Revenge is Deadly
by samigigglebox
Summary: Nine months after the girls graduate, strange things begin to happen. There is an attack on the President's daughter; Cammie finds out about a mysterious breakout; Joe Solomon is frightened by a simple signature on a crime scene; and Zach begins acting strange. Who is ACE? Secrets come out. Loyalties are tested. How well does Cammie know those closest to her- particularly Zach?
1. Prologue: Where is She?

**In Editing. Edits will be updated until all chapters excluding this Prologue have lyrics on top. No plot changes are being made, only improving quality of writing. **

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**As the summary says the main story will be nine months after the books end. This prologue however, is during the end of United We Spy. Those of you who have read the book will know this scene is not in the book, but it in necessary for the story. This scene takes place and hour or so after Cammie visits Catherine in her Gallagher prison room. Pay attention to details, and let's see who can guess the mystery. **

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_**Prologue**_

_**...**_

* * *

_**Where is She?**_

_**...**_

_"Above the plains, up on the hill, there stood a castle bold.  
A gleaming palace made of white, a pillar to behold.  
The horsemen lived in service to the castle and the crown_-"

"Mother."

The voice was sharp, like a knife. I stopped singing my song and looked up from my coloring. I had been adding girls to a picture I had drawn. It was a picture of a pretty white castle, like the one I had given Cammie earlier that day. My home- what was supposed to be my home. It was supposed to be my escaped, but instead it was nothing but a prison.

I blinked, focusing on the figure standing in the doorway of my room. My sweet, little Zach was standing stiff, his posture unwavering. He looked funny, like his father. His voice was strange too, mechanical.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer me," he said. He looked like little Cammie who had visited me a little while ago; the same stare, the same cold expression. Maybe it should have bothered me that my Zachy was looking at me like that, but it didn't. My Zachy wanted to ask me a question. What did he want to know? I smiled as I looked at my little boy, little assassin.

He crouched down, and I didn't have to look up from my spot on the floor anymore. His eyes were strange, hard and soft at the same time. "Where is she?"

My hair fell into my face as I tilted my head. _Where was she?_ I giggled, he should know that. He helped her get there. Zachy's eyes narrowed a little bit. "Answer me." He looked so much like Townsend when he was mad.

I laughed. "You look so much like your father."

My Zachy sighed and stared at something down the hall outside my room. When he turned back to me his eyes were sad, a frown etching its way onto her face."Is she alive?"

He thought she was dead? Why would he think she was dead? The Circle had found her when she was running. The Circle would take care of her. The Circle was family. She wouldn't leave the Circle, she knew better than that. They knew too much. She was too smart to be hurt or dead. I smiled. "She was a lot like you, she knew a lot, too."

"They got her."

I shook my head, pouting slightly. Why was Zachy so somber? "They didn't get her; she was safe in the Circle last I saw her."

That didn't seem to cheer my little boy up. Maybe he needed a song. I smiled as I thought of his favorite song. I rocked back slightly, singing. _"Above the plains, up on the hill, there stood a castle bold. A gleaming palace made of white, a pillar to behold."_

"Stop."

_"The horsemen lived in service to the castle and the crown,"_

"Be quiet!"

_"But the knights rose up and killed the kings,"_

"Goodbye, Mother."

_"And it all burned down."_

.oOo.


	2. Presidential Attacks

**_"_****_If you let me I could, I'd show you how to build your fences,  
Set restrictions, separate from the world.  
The constant battle that you hate to fight,  
Just blame the limelight.  
Don't look up  
Just let them think  
There's no place else  
You'd rather be.  
And now you can't turn back  
Because this road is all you'll ever have."  
~Fences, Paramore_**

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**_.o Presidential Attacks o.  
_**

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**Macey POV**

"But I don't want to go to another stupid convention!"

I sighed, feeling the headache start to blossom. Out of everything my great, great grandmother's school taught me, dealing with angry politician's daughters was not one of them. Luckily for me, that is exactly what I happened to be for over fifteen years before I began my training.

"Look, Bianca, I know you don't want to go, but how about this? After you standing and smiling is over, I'll make your father let me take you out to have some fun?" I asked with a smirk. After I had graduated from Gallagher, and the last of the Circle was taken care of, I joined the Secret Service; and less than a month later was able to fulfill my desire to be the President's fifteen year old daughter's personal security agent, like Abby had been for me. It was great most of the time, Bianca was a lot like I had been before I went to Gallagher: annoyed, bored, and ignored except when needed for the camera. So it was easy for me to understand what she was thinking. Even if it did annoy her a lot.

The day I had met her, she was in her room; a Paramore song could have been heard from two corridors away. After the Secret Service agent got her to turn the music off, he introduced me as her new personal security. Bianca, true to the 'rich brat' persona, had huffed and rudely told the agent to leave. After he did, she stared at me for a while. When it was obvious I wasn't going to say anything, she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "What, no 'I am here to protect you. Your safety is my top priority' speech?

"Well, you know, I _would_, but you just ruined it." I had smirked.

Bianca had blinked. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen," I had told her.

"Really, they're sending _teens_ to watch me now?" She snorted. "How low on their priority list am I? Or did they run out of real agents?"

"You sound like you've had quite a few different personal agents," I'd observed, leaning against the frame of her king-sized bed. I had taken out my little dagger and was twirling it in my hand. That conversation had started to remind me of one I had like it years ago.

Bianca had crossed the room to her I-Pod player and was looking through her playlist. Apparently, I was boring her. Shrugging, she picked up a piece of paper I recognized as an itinerary and held it near her face to read it. "I wouldn't really say there was anything _different_ about them; they're all nothing but big- ACK!" What the other agents were, I'll never know. Bianca had screamed and jumped so far backwards I thought she would run into the wall. She looked from me to where her itinerary was pinned to the wall by my dagger.

Pushing off the wall, I held out my hand to her while yanking the dagger out with the other. "I think you'll find that I am a little different than your previous protectors," I told the mini-me standing in front of me. "My name is Macey McHenry, daughter of senator McHeny of Virgina, and personally, I love 'Fences'. It always fit my mood the best." I smirked, playing said song on her I-pod and turning it up louder than she had it before.

The President's daughter had just stared at me, eyes wide. After a few seconds, she'd turned down the music and mumbled, "Giving me a headache anyways."

Raising my eyebrow, I had asked, "What? No, 'I don't care what you say. I don't need you'? No, 'Get out of my room and leave me alone'?"

All I'd received was an eye roll. _  
_

"Oh, silent. Is that the game now? Bianca, I know these games, and I'm not going to get annoyed with you."

Bianca only walked to the nightstand and popped an aspirin into her mouth. When she turned around, she crossed her arms. "I'm sitting in a room," was all she said, but I knew exactly what she wanted.

I grinned. "Made up of only big, white walls," I'd finished the Paramore line.

Finally, Bianca had smirked. "You weren't lying."

"Nope."

"You seriously know who Paramore is?"

"Of course. Also, Fall out Boy, Skillet, Panic at the-"

"Okay!" Bianca rolled her eyes again. "You're decent. I'll give you that. Don't expect me to actually listen to you though."

I'd grinned. "Where would be the fun in that?"

We had spent the next hour dancing and singing to Paramore in her room- until the Service came to tell us that if we didn't turn it down, Russia would start complaining. After a few weeks, I gained Bianca's trust. Now I was the longest lasting private agent Bianca has had since becoming the President's daughter. That would be the reason Bianca had come back from her tutor demanding that I get her out of the conference, where her father wanted her to make an appearance that day.

Bianca looked up from where she had thrown herself on her hotel bed. She looked me straight in the eye and narrowed her own. "You mean it? I won't have to sit through fake smiling and forced nodding while listening to boring discussions that will not effect me in the slightest for hours straight?"

"Would I lie to you?"

She contemplated this. "I guess not"

"Then come on," I said. I walked over to her I-pod player and played our new favorite song.

Singing along to Evanescence, she got two dresses out of the huge closest, then looked at me. One dress was green with a brown belt, the other was shorter and had black straps down the back. While the more stylish was the purple, she knew she couldn't wear something like that for a conference. I pointed to the green dress.

She stuck her tongue out at me. "You're no fun."

"And you're a brat."

Rolling her eyes, she changed and walked over to let me do her hair. One of the perks of being a Gallagher Girl: I was her favorite security guard and wardrobe and hair stylist.

"French braid. Not too tight. I don't want to look surprised the entire day because you don't know how to loosen your grip again."

"When have I ever done that?" I pointed at her with the comb. "You are making up lies about me and I will not have it!"

"I am not lying! The banquet, two months ago!"

"What- oh, yeah... Sorry about that."

Bianca pointed at me in the mirror. "See! You owe me an apology."

I tilted my head, pulling another lock of hair into place. "Hmm, considering your hair is in my hands right now, do you think it would be wise to boast?"

"If you do anything, I can always get you fired."

"But that means you would get a new, not-as-awesome-as-me agent." I tossed her finished braid over her shoulder.

Bianca's reasponse was cut off by a knock at the door.

"Miss Davis? Are you ready to leave?" We heard Katie, the woman who was in charge of Bianca's schedule, yell. At the same time I heard, "Peacock, is Nightingale ready for transportation?" in my comms. Nightingale was Bianca, of course. We came up with that codename when I heard how well she could sing.

Bianca turned off the music and looked at me; I nodded and winked. She took a deep breath, "Yes, I'm ready," she called.

"Nightingale is secure and awaiting transportation," said into the little microphone in my cuff. I smiled and whispered "It'll be fun."

* * *

"Nightingale is arriving on the scene," I said into my comms. We were entering the conference room; Bianca went to stand with her father and mother on the stage. While the interviewers and photographers snapped pictures, I scanned the room for security threats.

There were nine entrances and/or exits to the room. Three doors, four windows, and two air ducts. Snipers were a minimal risk, firearms seem to be cleared, the air ducts were cleared before we arrived; everything seemed to be secure.

That's when I saw him. Near the far, left corner of the room there was a man holding a camera with an abnormal sized lens but not taking any pictures. At least not of President. This man seemed far more interested in the security of the room.

"Beta team, I have a suspicious photographer. Black hair, blue jacket, brown shoes, left corner of the room." I said into my cuff. Instantly, three Secret Service agents were escorting the man out to 'talk'. Turns out his camera was malfunctioning, but we're keeping an eye on him.

After the photo and question portion was over, Bianca walked off the stage, straight to me. "That was not fun."

I just nodded. I was in 'Private Security' mode; she knew that.

Bianca and I waited until we knew she was not needed, then we walked out of the room. Instantly the head of the security team was in my ear.

"Peacock, explain absence."

"Nightingale, has requested to leave. Are we secure?" There was a two second pause, then-

"West side secure."

"East wing secure."

"North side secure."

"Sniper threats negative."

"You're clear, Peacock. Do you need backup?"

"No, but I am taking my car."

"Nightingale is still needed present, Peacock."

"Understood. She will be here when needed."

After we were cleared, I turned to Bianca. "Let's go."

She grinned, "I want ice cream."

* * *

We sat in the middle of the ice cream parlor, at the table facing the doors. A man with grey hair was sitting with a five year old boy behind me. On our left two girls were deciding what movie to see later. Bianca was sitting across from me. She was out of her green dress and in a cute blue top and white shorts, licking her mint chocolate-chip cone. I had changed too, instead of the Secret Service uniform, I was wearing a red top and black pants. We had a little more than half a hour to get back to the conference.

"Macey, how did you join the Secret Service?" Bianca asked quietly.

I turned to her from scanning the outside of the parlor windows. "What do you mean?"

"You're nineteen. You're the youngest agent I've met, not to mention girl agent," She said leaning toward me.

I considered how much to tell her, but then my internal clock struck 3:30, which meant we had thirty minutes until Katie started looking for Bianca. I sighed, "Come on, we have to go. I'll tell you later."

She frowned. "Alright."

It took us seven minutes to get to the conference building, then fifteen for us to get changed. Well, Bianca to get changed; I was ready in less than a minute.

"Peacock, what's your position?" I heard in my ear.

"Nightingale and I are in the west wing." I replied as we turned the corner to find Katie storming toward us.

"There you are! You need to be on the stage in two minutes! Come, come, come, stand here," she said pulling Bianca to he door near to the stage. When Bianca went to stand with her father and mother again, I went to my position near the stage.

It was almost over. The President said his last words to the audience. Secret Service cleared the way. We exited the building.

I was at Bianca's side; she always rode with me whenever she could. Her parent's car had just left, and we were waiting for my car to be brought.

That's when it happened.

I saw the man from earlier. He was standing among the bushes, nearly invisible. That's when I realized he was pavement artist. I saw him take out his camera. I saw him remove the lens to revile the little device hidden in it. It happened too fast; before I could say or do anything, I saw him twist the device in his hand. The comms went silent in my ear. The man tossed the device. I grabbed Bianca and shoved her down with me.

"Get down!"

There was a small explosion, but it wasn't until two seconds later that I realized what it was meant to do. "Hold your breath!" I yelled to Bianca.

The explosion may not have been big, but it released a large cloud of sweet smelling smoke. There were screams and shouting, but I only had one focus: keep Bianca safe. I heard a gunshot go off, but my comms was still silent in my ear. I grabbed Bianca and we ran.

Another shot went off.

I had to get Bianca out of there. I steered us toward where the emergency cars were waiting.

"Macey!" Bianca yelled. I turned and saw her dress was caught on something. Bianca was trying to extricate it, but the smoke was already making her movements clumsy. She couldn't hold her breath as long as I could. I turned and yanked her dress free- probably tearing it. I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me.

When we made it to the cars, I practically threw Bianca into the bulletproof car. I dove into the driver's seat and hotwired the car. As I drove us away, I saw Secret Service agents running after the man with the camera.

"Macey, what's going on?" Bianca yelled as I sped us toward the safe house. She sounded terrified, but also like she was half asleep. This was bad. She needed to get to help _now._

"You're going to be fine, Bianca, but do not go to sleep, okay?"

She nodded, her eyes wide with fear. When we finally reached the safe house Secret Service rushed out.

"I have her. She's unharmed but she's inhaled an unidentified chemical," I yelled as I helped Bianca out of the car. She was stumbling now.

When we were inside an agent tried to lead Bianca into a room. She yanked her arm away and threw her arms around me.

"I'm not going anywhere without Macey!" She yelled, her speech slurring now.

"It's okay, come here," I said leading her to a couch. Bianca finally relaxed for a second, before she finally blacked out in my arms.

* * *

**Cammie POV**

**MYSTERIOUS ATTACK ON PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER**

**Yesterday, March 7, an attack was made on, not the President, but seemingly his 15 year old daughter Bianca.**

**While leaving a conference in D. C. a bomb was detonated, releasing a large cloud of smoke and an unknown substance.**

**Gun shots were heard, but by whom is still uncertain.**

**The girl is said to be unharmed, thanks to her private security agent, but still unconscious from inhaling the unknown substance.**

**Reporters are still unsure if Secret Service know who is behind the attack.**

I sighed and passed the newspaper to the boy next to me. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know, Gallagher Girl, but it was a good thing Macey was there," he said, sighing and placing the paper on the table.

We were sitting in the picnic area on the edge of Georgetown University's campus, near the river. Zach normally visited me on the weekends he (or I) wasn't on a mission. We normally went unnoticed- being pavement artist and all. The few who did notice Zach just knew him as the 'mysterious guy who shows up now and then'. Which we were perfectly fine with.

I had just heard about the attack on the President's daughter, and it didn't make any sense. "Who would do this? The Circle is gone!"

My exclamation was met with silence. "Zach?" I said, looking up.

He was staring at something over my shoulder. I turned to see a familiar back retreating down an overgrown path. I turned back to Zach and nodded. We waited about thirty seconds, then stood up and casually walked down the overgrown path. When we got to the hidden door I punch in the number code. We stepped in and scanned our hands and retinas. Then we descend the staircase to the man waiting at the bottom.

"Joe, what's wrong?" asked Zach.

"Is mom..." I trailed off.

"Your mother is fine, Cammie," my stepfather said. "I'm really here for Zach."

"Me?"

"Yes, the Secret Service have requested you," Joe replied.

"Why?" I blurted.

"Why do they want me?" Zach asked.

"The man responsible for the attack on the President's daughter was captured and is being interrogated now," Joe said.

"What do they this need me for then?"

"The man is not cooperating."

"So? This happens all the time," I stated.

"Yes, but this is different. The man said- and I quote, 'You can give me all the truth serum you want. Torture me for all I care! I am not opening my mouth!" Joe said.

"What does this have to do with me?" Zach asked.

Joe put on a grim expression, "Because he said 'I'll die before I say anything. I will only speak to Zachary Goode.'"

.oOo.

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**I am currently going back through earlier chapters and correcting mistakes. If the chapter does not have lyrics on the beginning, it has not been edited. -S  
**


	3. Escapees

**Hello! Hehe.. I won't keep you. I know the last chap was a cliffy...**

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**_.o Escapees o.  
_**

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**UNKNOWN POV**

The wind blew cold against my face. The moonless night was silent around me as I leaned over the hundred foot cliff to peer down at the building hidden in the gorge. I say building, but it was more like a fortress. High stone walls surrounded by an electric, barbed wire fence. State of the art cameras, no blind spots. Watch towers on every corner. Even without the rocky landscape shield it would have been an impossible target for anyone else.

But, that didn't stop me from taking out my rappelling cable and attaching it to my belt. I made sure my base hook was secure and waited for the guards to change, like they did every four hours. In the two seconds it took for the new guard to take his post, I had jumped and was flying through the air toward the ground, the cold, night air whipping around my hair.

When I was about twenty feet from the ground I spun around and detached the cable, letting myself fall the remaining distance to the ground. I flipped midair and landed on he balls of my feet. I looked up at the guard tower and grinned; I had timed my jump perfectly, as always.

I removed my pack from my back and put it behind a bush; I wouldn't need it for a while.

I crept along the black, overgrown path against the cliff, stepping over trip wires and dodging pressure sensitive areas. I made my way to the north side of the building. When I was directly between the north and west towers, I took a little remote out of my pocket. I waited for the cameras to switch and I pressed the first button.

I watched as the lights instantly went bright, the sirens sounded and the guards rushed to where a trip wire had just been activated on the opposite side of the building. But, I didn't move. The alarm may have sounded, but that just meant the guards on this side were on high alert.

I waited twenty seconds, then pressed the second button on my little remote. Instantly there was an explosion on the east side of the building. Now when the guards on this side focus was drawn away I ran the perimeter of the fence until I came to the small hidden box. I took another small device that could have passed for the latest phone model out of my belt and plugged a cord into the box. Then I got to work on overriding the fence's sensor and opening it. It took me about twenty-three seconds- my personal best- to get past the fence.

Once I was in, I ran to the thirty foot stone wall and began to climb. I had about twenty seconds until the guards turned, and that is all it took for me to scale the wall and land on lightly on the other side. Then I took my remote and pressed the third button, causing two more explosions to go off fifty yards from the first one.

Now I just danced and flipped out of the camera's sweeping views until I came to the door, which I ironically knew the code for.

Once I was inside, I ran until I came to the control room. I didn't encounter any guards in the aisles; they were all worrying about the perimeter. Once I got to the control room though, I was met with three big, armed men. They saw me and their eyes went wide. Too bad they didn't get to warn anyone I was inside, not out, before they were slumped against the walls knocked out.

I went to the computers that controlled the security and hooked up the same device I had used on the fence. While it was working I scanned all of the cell cameras. Once I finally found what I was looking for, I took off down the maze of hallways and corridors. I didn't encounter any more guards until I was three yards away from my destination. I stopped running and looked around the corner to where three more men were standing in front of a door. I took out my little blowgun and within five seconds all the men were out, my darts in their necks.

I rolled my eyes and walked up to the door. I pushed in the number code and used one of the unconscious guy's hands to open the door. It slid aside revealing a small black haired girl, with wide, child like, clear blue eyes sitting on the cot that was connected to the wall. She was dressed in a simple gray night gown and seemed to be singing quietly to herself, while rocking back and forth with her small arms wrapped around her knees.

"Hey, you," I said quietly.

The girl looked up at me as if she had just noticed I was there. She stared at me for about ten seconds, then finally whispered, "You're here."

"Yeah, come on let's go," I replied, holding out my hand like I would to a five year old.

She looked at me for another minute, then got up, walked to me and said, "They took her that way," pointing down the right hall.

I smiled, "I know. Let's go get her."

We crept down three more hallways, now being more careful; the guards were probably starting to get suspicious of my diversions. I was honestly surprised I wasn't having more trouble than this. But, I guess when you work at one of the top three most secure prisons in the country, and no one has even tried to escape or get in in over a two decades, you get a little carefree- highly trained operative or not.

That or I was better than I thought.

We finally came to another door like the last one, only this one had five guards instead of two. It didn't matter, they were all out within seconds.

I opened the door to reveal another girl. She had dirty blonde hair and was wearing gray pants and a gray shirt. She was laying on the little cot, facing away from us, her hands behind her head like she didn't have a care in the world. She didn't turn to see who had opened the door or show any acknowledgement that she even knew the door had opened.

"You're late," she said, not turning around.

"I beg to differ," I replied. I took four knives out of my belt and sent two flying across the room. They flew passed the girl's face and landed in the wall right next to her head.

She hadn't even flinched.

"Let's go," I said.

The girl sighed, reached up and yanked the knives out of the wall in one swift motion. She swung her legs over the side of the cot and stood up, finally facing us. She was a little taller than me, and had a strong look about her, despite having been locked up for months- unlike the dark haired girl who was so thin and frail looking it seemed that a gust of wind would knock her over.

The blonde fingered the knives carefully, then finally looked up at us.

"It's been so long," she said quietly.

"I know. Let's go; more guards are going to be here soon," I replied, my voice monotone.

Hatred flashed for a second in her dark grey eyes, then it was gone. She looked down at the knives in her hand and grinned wickedly, "I'm ready to get out of here."

The blonde, the black haired girl, and I ran down the halls. Any guards we ran into didn't stay conscious- or in the blonde's path _alive_\- long enough to warn anyone that we were there.

When finally came back to the control room, I turned to the wide eyed, petite, black haired girl, "I know you've only been out a short time, but do you think you could get us enough time to get out of here?" I asked, pointing to the device I had set up earlier.

The girl looked at where I was pointing; she cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. Finally her eyes lit up and she nodded slowly.

She sat in the chair and began pushing multiple buttons- both on the keybored and on my device- faster than I could have ever done. Within two minutes she stood up and unplugged the device. "We have seven minutes as soon as you push the button," she said quietly, her voice distant.

I grinned, "That's all we need."

We ran the rest of the way to the door, where the guards had finally realized that the threat was already inside. There were too many to fight easily, so I took the device and pressed the blinking button. "Stay close," I said. The girls nodded behind me. The lights, locks and alarms all simultaneously shut off, leaving us in the silent darkness.

We were out the door within a minute, running across the pitch black field to the wall. In a matter of seconds we were on the other side running to the powerless fence. Once we were out of the fence in only took us a minute to get to the cliff.

By the time the gunshots began to ring out, we had already reached where I had hidden my pack and were attaching our rappelling cables to our harnesses. We flew up the cliff; when we reached the top we dropped the harnesses and ran three miles to where I had left the car I had _borrowed_ to get there.

The men at the asylum would never see us again.

* * *

When we were over a hundred miles away, once we had returned the car to where I had gotten it from, the dirty blonde haired girl turned to me and crossed her arms, "Alright, we're out," she said, "About time too..."

"Hey! I got you out as fast as possible! You think it was easy planning all that?" I snapped.

The black haired girl covered her ears with her hands and scrunched her eyes shut.

I sighed then walked to her and began stroking her matted hair. She flinched, but opened her eyes once she realized what I was doing.

"Exactly what have you been doing all this time?" the blonde demanded.

"I've been busy," I said.

Just then we walked past a newsstand. "Oh, busy I see..." the blonde said quietly at first then, "The President's daughter?! Are you crazy?!"

I narrowed my eyes at her, "You know better than anyone I didn't attack the President's daughter," I hissed.

The black haired girl shut her ears and eyes again and began shaking her head frantically. I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back.

"Look, we don't have time to be arguing," I told the blonde, "We have things to attend to."

"Like what?"

"We have an interrogation to intercept."

* * *

**Zach POV**

Joe led me down a stone hallway. The fluorescent lighting casting strange shadows on the walls. We finally came to the room where I would interrogate the man responsible for the attack on the President's daughter.

"We need to know who he is, who he was acting for, and why he only will speak to you," Joe said.

I nodded.

"We will have cameras and you have your comms. If anything funny happens, we will be there in a second."

"Alright," I said. I opened the door to revile a simple chair facing a glass wall. There was a camera in the corner of the room. On the other side of the glass there was another chair. Sitting in the chair hooked up to a truth detecting machine, was a average looking man with black hair, brown eyes and a look of boredom on his face.

When I entered the room he smiled a haunting, satisfied smile.

I sat in the chair and looked the man directly in the eyes. "I heard you wanted to speak to me," I said.

He grinned even more. I made sure to keep my face unreadable.

"I believe I said I would speak to you and you only," he said pointedly, looking straight at the camera behind me.

I studied him for a minute. "Deactivate the cameras," I said into my comms.

"Zach-"

"Don't you trust me Joe?"

A second later, the little red light went out on the camera. The man smiled again. "Well, what do you want to know, Zachary?" he asked.

"Who are you?"

"Richard Steven Runner," he answered, "Last surviving member of the Circle. I was a minor though, lower than your mother. But I don't care about them or their goals anymore."

"Why did you attack the President's daughter?"

He shrugged, "I was asked to."

"By whom?"

"I don't know. They sent me a text; the number was blocked."

"Why did you do it then?"

"I figured I'd end up here. I'm tired of this way of life; I don't know how to do anything else."

"You wanted to be caught?"

"Yes."

"Why would you only speak to me?"

"Part of the orders. I was given a message for you."

"What is it?"

"It is 'You know who did it.'"

I know who did it. What the heck did that mean? I didn't know who did this, but I had been watching the man and the machine the entire time; he was telling the truth. I nodded.

Just then I heard Joe in my comms, "Zach, get out of there. We found someth-" The comms went dead in my ear.

I stood up, but not before I saw the machine go out. The lights went out a second later. I heard the sound of a door being kicked open, I got down and was ready for any attack; but it wasn't my door that was kicked open. Then a gunshot went off. The lights came on a moment later, but the man was already dead.

Joe came bursting into the room a second later. He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room.

"What happened?" I asked when we were out of the building.

"I don't know. The entire system was overridden. I've never seen anything like it. Whoever did it completely disappeared though," he said.

Later, when everyone had calmed down, I was debriefed. I told them everything verbatim.

"Do you know who did this Zach?" Joe asked.

"No, I have no idea."

Joe nodded grimly, "Well whoever is behind this has reason to believe you do. Right now we need to keep the President's daughter safe."

"Has she woken up?"

He looked at me in the eyes, "No."

* * *

**Hehe.. I love cliffhangers... That's just a warning... **

**What did you guys think? I was so excited for this chapter! Pretty mysterious right? Who do think the Mystery POV is? Who do you think those girls are? Who do you think is behind this? I love to hear your theories! Please review!**

**Up next is Macey again, and maybe Cammie... (Don't worry Bex and Liz are coming soon!)**

**Now for those of you who reviewed:**

**Hannahelaine:** I am glad you like it! Don't worry I plan to finish this! I hate it when authors just quit too..

** Fluffy .has. a Max :** I know I responded to you with a PM but still... I am glad you like it!

**Stronger-Than-Fear:** Well, I think you already know my response... Thank you for being my amazing beta! I am glad you like this..

**Sunshine011:** YAY! You like it! I was hoping you would! Glad it's confusing in a 'want to read more' way! This chapter was even more mysterious... And it will remain that way until the gang figures it out! BTW- I REALLY WANT YOU TO UPDATE!

**'Till next time- Bookworm**


	4. Any News?

**Hello! Thank you all so much for following, favoriting, and the wonderful reviews! YAY! Next chapter! I know it's been a little while since the last update, but this chapter is longer and has three POVs! Note: the Mystery POV is always going to be the same person.. Who that is, is a mystery still... Hehe... Now on to the chapter...**

* * *

**.o Any News? o.**

* * *

**Macey POV**

I paced in the room they had moved Bianca into after the doctors had checked her out. They had said she was absolutely fine; but it had been five days since the attack, and she hadn't woken up. The doctors didn't know why; she seemed perfectly healthy.

Joe had come two days ago to tell me about the interrogation. I couldn't make any more sense of it than he could. I didn't understand why anyone would do this; the Circle was gone. Zach said he had no clue either. I kept playing the scene in my head. Who would he know that would do this? Why would the attacker say he did? Why did they use an asset instead of attacking themselves? Why did they attack Bianca in the first place? What does it all mean?

I fell into the chair beside Bianca's bed. She looked so peaceful asleep. Her face was free of the normal scowl, frown, or forced smile she normally wore. I had been her only constant visitor, only leaving to be debriefed. Security was always here of course, but her parents had only been here twice. Not that it shocked me; it had been the same way for me when I was younger. I remembered when Cammie and I had been first attacked by the Circle. My parents hadn't even come to see me in the safe house. They only rushed me in front of the cameras to help the election.

I remember when I first started being Bianca's private security agent, she had been almost going mad. When I was younger, I had my friends to keep me sane. The fact that I was training to be a spy had helped too. But, Bianca hadn't had any of that. She had a private tutor and was kept inside most of the time. She was so locked inside herself by the time I got to her, it took a long time for me to find the girl underneath the bratty exterior. But, I had, and I was Bianca's only true friend right now- the only one who knew the real Bianca.

Sighing, I brushed a lock of light brown hair out of Bianca's face. "I won't let anything happen to you ever again," I whispered.

I fell asleep a few hours later.

* * *

Around three a.m. I was woken up by a gentle pulling on my sleeve.

"Macey," a small voice whispered.

I opened my eyes and saw two light green irises staring back at me. I gasped and grabbed the girl in front of me in a hug.

"You're awake!" I cried.

Bianca gasped, then sighed, "Yeah, I am. How long was I asleep?"

I released her and let her sit back on her bed. "About six days. You're in a safe house right now. The doctors said you could go home once you woke up. "

I watched her as she nodded, absorbing the information. She looked like she was going to say something, then closed her mouth again. Finally she asked quietly, "Where's the President and wife?" She never said his name. It reminded me of how I refused to say my father's name.

I sighed. "They're at the White House. They came to see you when you were safe from the attack and when we moved you here, but they haven't been here since." I didn't sugarcoat it; she didn't want me to.

She nodded, her face unreadable. We stayed silent for a few minutes, then she finally said, "I'm hungry."

"You know what's coming next, right?" I asked. Once everyone knew she was awake she would be debriefed and examined by multiple agents and doctors. It was the reason I hadn't asked her anything.

She sighed, "Yeah, bring on the inspectors."

I nodded, then left to tell the others she was awake.

* * *

After Bianca had been debriefed, I had finally been able get her some food. I watched her carefully as she ate her sandwich. When Bianca was finished, she lied down again. "Macey?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you tell me how you joined the Secret Service now?" she asked.

I sighed. I couldn't tell her about Gallagher, but I had never lied to her before. I thought about what to say for a while before answering. "I joined the Secret Service when I was eighteen." I said.

"I know. How did you join at only eighteen? I mean I know you're awesome- heck, you just proved you're awesome-"

I grinned.

"But you are a senator's daughter. My dad ran against yours. And you were able to join the Service at eighteen?"

I smiled, "I had some special training."

"When? You went to a boarding school."

"Yeah, I did." I said, "Sorry, Bianca, but the rest is classified."

Bianca frowned but didn't push it. After a while she sat up suddenly and asked, "What day is it?"

"The twelfth. Why?"

"My birthday."

"Oh, right, you wanted to go to London for your birthday didn't you?"

She nodded, then groaned. "But I'm going to be under a microscope for the next few days, and extra security is going to be added isn't it?" Bianca said, flopping down on her face.

I thought about it. Her birthday was on the seventeenth. The security would be pushed up a notch, and the news would want to know all about the 'poor little girl' who had been attacked. But if the _right_ reporters were following her, and if she had the _right_ security in London...

I turned to Bianca grinning, "Well, I might be able to arrange for us to go to London."

She shot back up, "How?"

I smirked, "I have some friends."

* * *

**Cammie POV**

I was packing my bag for an one or two day trip to New York. It was Saturday, and I hadn't heard any news about anything since Zach called three days ago to tell me what had happened with the interrogation and that he was going to stay with Joe for a while to try to figure this out.

I never was too patient.

I wanted news, and there was only one person I knew who would have it.

I finished packing and walked out of my little apartment I was living in. I turned the corner to find a boy and girl running towards me. Well, not me, I don't think they even saw me until they almost ran into me. Not, that I would have let them- I was just a chameleon.

"Whoa! Sorry! Didn't see you," the girl said. She had strawberry blonde hair and green eyes- was right handed, was wearing contacts, and probably having bad allergies; her nose was pink from blowing it. She grinned at me and kept walking down the hall, but the boy was staring at me strangely.

"Yes?" I asked him.

"Oh, nothing. You just seemed familiar," he replied. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and had a slight sunburn. He was the same boy who had thrown a frisbee in my direction on accident months ago. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "You're in my advanced science class right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

The girl, who apparently hadn't gone far enough to be out of hearing distance, came back and looked at me. "Hey, you're in my advanced math too, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yup," I answered. Of course I knew that they were Kevin and Lyla, the two top students under me, but I couldn't tell them that.

Lyla noticed my bag. "You goin' somewhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, I better get going," I replied.

"Alright," Lyla said.

I turned and walked away. I heard them asking each other if they had ever really noticed me during school behind me. I smiled. Ever the chameleon.

* * *

When my plane landed hours later, I went to the center of all major news in the US. I made my way to the tall WW News headquarters building in the middle of Manhattan.

When I made it to the building I walked inside, toward the front desk, and before I could say a word the lady at the desk said, without looking up, "There are no open times to see Miss Walters. Please make an appointment or come back some other time."

I walked in front of the lady and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see Miss Know-it-all."

The lady stopped typing and looked me in the eye. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked.

"No, but I don't think she'll mind; I'm a school friend," I replied.

She looked me up and down, then nodded. She moved a pen stand over to me and gave me a form. "Sign here please."

I signed the paper, then pressed my finger to the little sensor on the stand. I felt the warm scanner read my prints. The lady scanned the information that came up on the computer, then smiled and said, "Well, I guess Miss Walters has a bit of time to see you. If you would wait a moment."

"Of course."

She picked up the phone and said, "Miss Walters, there is a girl here to see you. She says she's a school friend,- Ummm... yes.-" she turned to me, 'Name?' she mouthed.

"Chameleon" I mouthed back.

"Yes, Miss Walters, Chameleon," she said into the phone quietly. A second later she pointed to the elevator. "Top level," she said, then added, "Sister." She winked.

I smiled and walked to the elevator. Once I was to the top level I made my way to the big doors that led to the head office. When I knocked, the doors were thrown open and I was yanked into the room and attacked in a hug.

"Oh my gosh! Cammie! It's been so long! How's Zach? What are you two up to? Did you hear about the Macey and the President's daughter? Did-"

"Tina!" I cut the excited girl off, "Breathe!"

"Sorry, I just- It's been so long."

"Yeah, it has."

"So what brings you here?" Tina asked, walking back to the large desk and perching on top of it.

"I actually came to ask you if you knew anything new about what's happened to the President's daughter or who might be behind it," I told her.

"The President's daughter..." she said hopping down to bring up multiple files on the many computers around the desk. "Well, as far as the news knows it was a random attack, strangely on Bianca not the President."

"_But..._" I prompted.

Tina grinned and walked to the file cabinet against the wall. She reached up and pulled a hidden box out. She pushed in a number code and let a scanner read her retina.

The file cabinet slid away to reveal a room with more advanced computers and top secret files.

"But, while I haven't gotten any leads on who did it besides Zach's interrogation, I've discovered that the day after the attack there was a breakout at Youngblood Asylum."

"Youngblood asylum?! No one's even tried to escape in over thirty years! How did anyone get out?" I cried.

"They didn't do it alone. Someone not only broke in, but they were able to do it without being detected until they had already freed two prisoners," Tina said. "The guards were interrogated a few days ago- I actually got to do one after Langley- they say they couldn't really see the intruder because they were completely covered, but they seemed young. And the escapees were two young girls too. I can't help wondering if it's connected to the attack. But then who would be doing this?"

I nodded taking it in. Someone ordered the attack on the President's daughter; the next day there was a break out; the day after that someone overrode the system at the interrogation and killed the man who did the attack. If the person who broke those girls out of the asylum was the one behind the attacks, who would want the interrogation to stop? Or was the person who stopped the interrogation the same one who broke the two girls out? Or was this not connected at all and we had two mystery attackers on our hands?

"I have no idea. Who were the girls that escaped?" I asked.

"It's so strange, no one knows their names. If anyone did, they're dead," Tina said, shaking her head. "All we know is that they're about nineteen, one is a dirty-blonde and killer with knives, super dangerous- like Bex angry dangerous. The other we don't know so much about. She was a black haired girl, no bigger than Liz. From the the nine months they were locked up she hardly said two words a day. She seemed like a broken girl. I'm not sure why she was locked up, but she must have been dangerous to be at Youngblood," she sighed and shook her head. "No one even knows where they came from."

"What is the CIA doing?"

"They've sent out a lot of operatives to look for them, but no one's gotten any leads though. It's like they vanished to thin air," she looked at me, her eyes showing a bit of fear, "The only person I've ever known to disappear like them is you, Cam."

"This is crazy," I said. It made no sense. Who broke them out? Why did they break them out? How did they break them out? What does it mean? I would have to think about this more later.

"Thanks, Tina," I said, "You always have info."

"Speaking of info, how are you and Zach doing?" she asked.

"Oh, we're fine," I said, walking out of the secret room.

"Awww... Come on! Have you heard anything from Bex?"

"Not since her birthday, Tina, you were there."

"What about-" She was cut off by the phone ringing. "Hold on.- WW News, this is Tina Walters- Macey! It's been forever!- uh huh... Yeah...- Of course! No, I'll cover it- Great!- Alright I've needed a new story! Thanks!- I'll be there.- Okay, see you then." She hung up and then started running around and pulling different papers out of different files. Then she seemed to remember I was there.

"Oh, Cammie! That was Macey; she wants me to be the one to do the stories on how Bianca is doing," she said, "She wants Bianca to be able to go to London for her birthday and needs the extra security and the reports need to be filled, so she wants me to do it! Isn't it great!"

"That is great," I told her, "So I'll let you get ready then, I need to get back to Georgetown anyway. Thank you so much for the help!"

"No problem, Cam. I hope I see you soon," she said, giving me a hug.

* * *

I stayed in a hotel that night, thinking everything over. In the morning I flew back to Virginia.

I was walking down the hall to my apartment. I got my keys out and began unlocking the door. The more that I thought about the attacks, the more I wanted to talk to my mom, or Joe, or-

"Hey, Squirt."

* * *

**Mystery POV**

I walked down the hall and came to a stop in front of the door to the motel room we were currently staying in. I took a pin out of my pocket and picked the lock. I opened the door to find a knife flying toward my head.

It landed in the door two inches from my face.

"URH!" an angry voice yelled. The thrower marched over to the door and yanked the knife out. "It landed two inches away from your head!" the blonde yelled.

"Opposed to?"

"Half an inch!" She turned suddenly and sent the knife flying across the room. It landed right next to the bulls eye- like one centimeter away.

"URRH! I hate that asylum!" she cried.

I rolled my eyes and tossed the bag I was holding on the shabby bed. "It's only a centimeter."

"_Only a_\- only a centimeter?!" the blonde turned on me, another knife in her hand. "One centimeter is the difference between killing a man and missing! One centimeter is the difference between taking a man down and getting caught! Between snapping a rope and nine freaking months in a freaking asylum!" she yelled, her voice cracking.

I stood in front of her, put my hands on her shoulders, and looked in her stormy gray eyes, "You're out," I said. "You're out and you're never going back. Now, you know how to throw, so do it."

The girl closed her eyes, turned around and said, "The cat's eye on the calendar." She kept her eyes closed and sent the knife soaring. It landed exactly where she said. She opened her eyes and grinned.

"There," I said, turning around to the bag. I opened it, revealing wads of hundreds of dollars in cash. "I got us enough to go anywhere, plus some. Have you been checking the reports?"

Silence.

I groaned.

"Why do we even need to keep up with the news anyway?" The blonde asked.

"Because, we need to know where the girl is going- ugh, I've already explained this to you!" I sighed, then looked around. "Where is she?"

The blonde snorted, "Behind the bed, _coloring_."

I walked over to find the little, black haired girl, surrounded by papers. I looked at the pictures; they were amazing. All of them were of fairies and pixies, but almost every picture had a fairy in some kind of pain. One had cuts up her arms, one was clutching her head, another had torn wings, it would have been disturbing to someone who didn't know the girl's story. But I was used to it.

"Hey," I said.

The girl's head shot up, her eyes wide.

"What you doing?"

"Coloring," the girl whispered.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Alright," I said. I turned back to the blonde who was finally on the computer.

"Hey, they posted!" she called.

I walked over to her and read the article over her shoulder.

**The President's daughter was reported awake and well on the twelfth of March.**

**She is home now, but it has been heard that she will be traveling to London for her sixteenth birthday on the seventeenth.**

**It has been said that extra security will be added to ensure Bianca's safety.**

**It has not been confirmed or denied whether the Secret Service know who was behind the attack on the eighth.**

**I will be sending you all the news as it happens.**

**WW News reporter- Tina Walters.**

This was perfect. I turned to the two girls, grinning, "Looks like we're going to London, girls."

* * *

**Sooo... What did you guys think? Not much action, I know, but not every chapter can have giant attack scenes... We got to see Tina! And I think you can guess who Bianca's special security will be in London! Maybe the cleared some stuff up.. Maybe it made you more confused... LOL..  
**

**Tell me what you think! Any new theories? Any questions? Plot ideas? Please REVIEW!**

**Now for my wonderful reviewers!**

** Fluffy. has. a. Max : **I'm glad it's mysterious! You got to the mystery characters a bit more in this chapter... Don't worry we will learn more about them in future chapters... But you will have to wait until the gang knows who they are... hehe..

**Stronger-Than-Fear : **Thank you for being my awesome Beta! I'm glad you liked this chapter!

**InkHeart4112 : **Yeah, It wasn't Zach... Hehe.. I am glad you like it! Thank you for reviewing!

**proudnerdfighter : **Hmmm... Thank you for your review! I love hearing your theories! Did this chapter change them or are they still the same? I'm glad you like my story! I can't wait to give more information about the Mystery people...

**Guest: **Hehe... Your guess about the Mystery person having to do with 'her' is correct... We get to see here more of what the Mystery people are doing... It seems they are involved with Bianca, but how? Hehe...

**Bookwormbullet : **I'm glad you like it! I will check out your stories...

**Matisse Gacioppo : **Ooooo! Your guesses made me really excited! You're getting close! But we still don't know whether the Mystery POV is a boy or a girl.. ( well I do, haha)

* * *

** Thank you to all who reviewed! Please Review!- Bookworm  
**


	5. Visitors

**Okay! I'm sorry! I know I said once a week or every two weeks! I got The Son of Neptune and Mark of Athena, and well I needed some time to recover from the end, I'm reading House of Hades now.. Then I had really bad writer's block! Then something else happened, and well, I'm back now... Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites! So because it's been so long, this chapter is twice as long as normal ones! And we get a new POV! now for the chapter!**

* * *

**.o Visitors o.**

* * *

**Cammie POV**

"Aunt Abby!" I cried, "What are you doing here?"

"Just visiting my favorite niece," Abby replied. She was sitting on the couch in the small living room. I hadn't seen her in months since I came to Georgetown. And she is one of the people who might know what's going on.

I rolled my eyes. "Uh huh. Is everything alright? How's Mom?"

"Fine, fine," Abby said, waving her hand and standing up to give me a hug. "I just came to say 'hello' yesterday, and that girl across the hall said you had left. Where did you go?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Oh, just to New York."

Abby raised an eyebrow, "Tina?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"What she say? Any news?"

"Nothing new about the attack, but she did tell me about a breakout at Youngblood."

"Yeah, come here," she said, walking to the kitchen table where a computer was set up. She pulled up some CIA files and turned the computer towards me. It was the files on the escapees; but something seemed off. The first one stated that one girl was nineteen, blonde, 5'7'', deadly with knives- that was it. No details, no history-nothing, not even why she was locked up. The next one was just as vague. Black haired girl, just turned nineteen, 5'3'', seemed to be mentally unstable- well even more so than others at the asylum. That's it.

That wasn't right. Tina had told me that no one knew who they were or anything important about them besides they were dangerous- and that was obvious since they had been at Youngblood. She had mentioned the files at Youngblood had been destroyed too. But these were the CIA files. They should have the information!

"This isn't right," I said.

"Yeah, I know," Abby replied, "Langley doesn't know what happened to the files. It seems like someone hacked into Langley, but the only people capable of that work at Langley. Besides, not many people can do it undetected."

Well, I knew someone who could have done it. I banished the thought as soon as it came; there was absolutely no way Liz did this. Still, she might be able to help find out who did. And why would whoever hacked the files leave anything at all? Why not just destroy the files?

"Has Liz looked into it?" I asked Abby.

"Not that I know of," Abby replied. "She's been at Gallagher with me."

"Oh, yeah- wait, if you're here, and Joe's with Zach, then who's covering CoveOps? Townsend?"

"Nah, your mom's covering it. Townsend's in London over seeing the President's daughter's security team. "

"When does Bianca leave?" I asked.

"The fifteenth. I believe she's spending a week in London."

I nodded, thinking. I couldn't help a sense of worry for the girl. I knew more than anyone what it felt like to be targeted by terrorist for an unknown reason. And I had had my friends and my training to help me deal with it; but Bianca wasn't a Gallagher Girl. Macey had tried, but her parents wouldn't have it. Plus, Bianca told Macey she didn't really mind staying home, as long as Macey stayed. I knew she had Macey; that was comforting to me. This trip to London still felt ominous though.

"Tina said Macey asked her to cover the reports," I said. "And you say Townsend's over seeing the security team in London."

"Yeah."

"And London has one of the best MI6 agents ever," I continued.

"Uh huh..."

I sighed. "Then why do I feel like something's wrong?"

Abby studied me for a while. "I don't know, Squirt, but you can't leave Georgetown in the middle of the week, so don't get any ideas. You still have a cover to maintain."

"I know, I know," I sighed.

"Plus, I think it's best to stop leaving so often if you want to keep your cover," Abby warned me.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll stay here for the next month or so. I just don't like not helping!"

Abby came to stand in front of me. "I know, Squirt, but sometimes you have to leave it to others. Bianca is not your subject, she's Macey's."

"I know. But why would anyone do this?"

"There are a lot of reasons. You know that."

I thought of what Joe told me years ago. There are six reasons anyone does anything: Love. Faith. Greed. Boredom. Fear. Revenge. I wonder what is motivating this attacker.

"Okay, yes. But who would do this? And are the attack and the breakout connected? And who hacked Langley? And why would the hacker leave what they did? Why not just destroy the files altogether?" I burst, all the questions that had been swirling in my head flowing out.

Abby sighed and pulled out a chair and sat down. "You know we don't know who did this- neither does Zach for that matter. He and Joe are trying to find any connections from the attacks to anyone Zach knows or knew. As for the attack and breakout, they are connected. We've looked into the guy who talked to Zach and found out he was a guard at Youngblood." Abby shook her head. "That's probably why the attacker knew exactly how to break those two girls out undetected."

"That's probably why the man was killed right after delivering the message to Zach," I said.

"Yes," Abby said, "And as for the hacker, well I think it's safe to guess it's the same person, or people. Though I do wonder why they left the information." She shook her head. "I don't know, Squirt." She stood up and clapped her hands, "Well, I have to go back to- well, where I'm going," she winked.

I helped her put up her computer and walked her to the door. The door across the hall opened, then closed quickly -but not completely. Lyla was trying to either watch us without us knowing, or was just waiting until we left.

Abby didn't even acknowledge the door across the hall opened, but I knew she noticed. She turned and said, "Okay, see you later, Squirt. Remember what I said- don't get too _toasty_." She nodded ever so slightly towards Lyla's door. "And about the other thing- don't worry, we'll tell you if we need anything."

I nodded, "Alright, thanks, Aunt Abby. Tell Mom I said 'hi.'"

"Will do, Squirt." And with that Abby was gone.

Lyla waited about five seconds, then opened the door- acting as if she didn't know I was there of course. She looked up at me. "Hey,-" she snapped her fingers, trying to remember my name.

"Cammie."

"Yeah, sorry, Cammie. I didn't realize we were neighbors! You know we should hang out sometime. Want to catch a movie this weekend?" Lyla asked. I was stunned. Sure I knew there was absolutely nothing abnormal about her, but she didn't know me at all. Well, besides sitting next to me in three classes. But, I thought about what Abby told me- don't get too toasty. Well that could go either way; I could become 'that mystery girl' and people get suspicious, or I could hang out with Lyla and have the same thing happen that did with Josh.

_But you won't lie to her like you did Josh-_ I thought.

Lyla was still waiting for an answer. I smiled and said, "Sure, that would be fun!"

She grinned, "Great! I'll come over on Friday to see what movie we want to see!" She turned and waved, then turned the corner and was gone. I smiled. Maybe I could do this.

* * *

**Bianca POV**

_'How can you see into my eyes like open doors?'_

I groaned and rolled over.

_'Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb_  
_Without a soul, my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold_  
_Until you find it there and lead it back home'_

I jumped up as the music got louder and louder from my alarm.

_'(Wake me up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(Save me)_  
_Call my name and save me from the dark'_

I stood up, stretched and went to brush my teeth.

_(Wake me up)_  
_Bid my blood to run_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Before I come undone_  
_(Save me)_  
_Save me from the nothing I've become'_

It's was almost seven a.m. and Macey would be in my room in about- The door to my room banged open. I jumped and turned to see Macey walking in singing along with my alarm music.

_'Now that I know what I'm without_  
_You can't just leave me_  
_Breathe into me and make me real_  
_Bring me to life'_

I finished brushing my teeth and walked to my closet to pick out an outfit for today, singing along too.

_(Wake me up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(Save me)_  
_Call my name and save me from the dark_  
_(Wake me up)_  
_Bid my blood to run_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Before I come undone_  
_(Save me)_  
_Save me from the nothing I've become_

I pulled out my outfit- a purple top with a black skirt and black tights and boots. Macey gave me the thumbs up. I grinned. I loved Macey, she was the only person I've known who actually understands me- the real me. Plus she never shut me down when I sang really loud- like right now.

_Frozen inside without your touch_  
_Without your love, darling_  
_Only you are the life among the dead_

_All this time I can't believe I couldn't see_  
_Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me_  
_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems_  
_Got to open my eyes to everything_  
_Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul_  
_Don't let me die here_  
_There must be something more_  
_Bring me to life_

_(Wake me up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Wake me up inside_  
_(Save me)_  
_Call my name and save me from the dark_  
_(Wake me up)_  
_Bid my blood to run_  
_(I can't wake up)_  
_Before I come undone_  
_(Save me)_  
_Save me from the nothing I've become_

_Bring me to life_  
_(I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside)_  
_Bring me to life'_

By the time the song ended, I was dressed and Macey was ready to help me with my hair. This was our normal routine- well, except the song. That changed every day; yesterday we did Decode and before that Monster- you get the idea.

I honestly don't know what I would have done if Macey hadn't come. Of course when she first came I hated the idea of another private security agent. All of the old ones never let me do anything. I had to sit here, stay there, be exactly here or there, couldn't try this, it was dangerous to eat that- even at home! It was maddening. It was like I was a doll or a baby. Of course I know that they were doing their job, and as annoying as they were, I'm glad they kept me safe- that didn't stop me from getting rid of each and every one of them though.

Then Macey came.

And honestly, when I first met her, she scared me.

After so long of hiding what I felt and thought- what I really felt, not the snob attitude or brat talk- for someone to come in and just know- it was freaky. The fact that she almost sliced my nose off when we met didn't help either.

Of course while I was freaked out, I was also freaking out! Finally there was someone who didn't lecture me anytime I walked five feet away to look at something, someone who listened to my complaints and actually talked to me! It took me a while to realize I could really trust Macey and really open up to her, but it was the best feeling ever when I did. I guess, in a way, Macey brought me to life.

And now I had even more respect for Macey. Not only was she the best security ever because of understanding me, but she was freakin awesome! I mean she had shown me what she could do. But it was different now that I really saw what she could do! She saved me from- whoever that freak bomb guy was. Now that I think about it I never was told what was going on. Guess I never asked. Huh, i would have to find out what is going on. Normally Macey told me anything I asked- well, except how she became so good. I was still trying to figure that out.

Macey was finished with my hair. It was down in its brown, natural curls, with the front in two braids on each side pulled back and pinned at the back of my head- my favorite hair style.

I turned and grinned at her. "So, what we doing today?" I asked. Macey normally took care up my schedule.

Macey smirked at me. "Oh, we have an awesome day ahead of us."

"Really? What?"

"Packing!"

"Urgh!"

* * *

Don't get me wrong- I was super excited to be going to London! I've been wanting to go since I was little. Although how Macey was able to get permission to take me I have no idea. She was just awesome like that.

I still hated packing though.

"Purple or green?" I asked Macey.

She looked up from finding a pair of shoes. "Green."

I nodded and packed the green top.

After a while of quiet packing- well besides us singing with Paramore- Macey stood up and put her finger to her ear. I turned the music low and waited until Macey looked up. She smiled and said, "Hey, remember I told you I had some friends?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, one of them is here to meet you. She's going to be going to London with us and covering the reports that the media is going to want- so you know, be nice."

I rolled my eyes, "Uh huh."

"Don't worry, she's cool- a little nosy, but cool," Macey assured me.

Macey left the room for a second. When she came back a girl about Macey's age with wavy, strawberry-blonde hair and hazel eyes was behind her.

"Hi, Bianca! I'm Tina Walters!" she chirped.

"Hi, wait- Tina Walters, as in the WW News, Tina Walters?" I asked.

"Mm Hm," she nodded.

I turned on Macey. "You didn't tell me you knew Tina Walters!" I kinda yelled. I turned back to Tina, "You're the only reporter I actually follow and like!"

Macey laughed. "See, I told you," she said to Tina.

"Okay, I admit it," Tina replied, "I was nervous for nothing."

"Uh, why were you nervous?" I asked, although I had a guess.

Tina didn't say anything while Macey laughed again. "Well, you kinda have a bad reputation among reporters, Bianca."

Tina nodded, "Yeah, every reporter who tries to interview you, well, they never forget."

I grinned, "I'm just honest, not my fault things seem to go wrong," I shrugged. Every reporter always twisted what I said and made me seem like a helpless, little girl or a bratty snob. So after a while I got sick of it and well, every interview has had a funny 'accident' since.

"Uh huh," Macey muttered.

"Anyways," I said, turning to Tina, "You got nothing to worry about. I'll be good. Mostly."

"Good. You better," Macey said, narrowing her eyes, smirking, "You don't get on Tina's bad side. It's not pretty."

"Excuse me? If I remember right, you were the one at school who-" she stopped suddenly, almost like she said too much. Wait, did she say at school?

"You went to Macey's school?"

Macey shot Tina a look like 'Way to go'.

"Um, yeah, I went to Gallagher."

Why would it be such a big deal for me to know they both went to The Gallagher Academy? It's just a rich girl school. Wait, didn't Macey say she got permission to take me to London because she had some friends? Why would Tina be different than other reporters that would follow me? Is it just because Macey knows her or...

"Bianca we have to finish packing," Macey said.

"Fine." I would have to think more later.

* * *

While we were packing, Tina asked me a few questions. Not normal interview questions though; it seemed like she really wanted to get to know me like a friend. And she seemed like Macey, as in she seemed to understand what I thought. I still wanted to find out what made her different. I had come up with a theory, but it seemed crazy. I still wanted to test it though. My opportunity came with lunch.

Someone brought us lunch at one. After we ate I kept the knife and held on to it. Macey and Tina were talking about the trip. They were next to the bookshelf, and I was by my my bed. Ever since Macey threw that dagger when we first met, I had asked her to show me how to throw, just for fun. Now, I took the knife and threw it at Tina.

Well, okay- _next_ to Tina. My aim was the shelf, not her. I'm not that crazy.

Just as I guessed, before the knife landed Tina had grabbed a book and caught it, in on fluid, spinning move.

"Ah ha! I knew it! You're an agent too! That's why you're the one coming with us!" I cried, smirking. "Don't worry I won't say anything."

Tina looked from me, to the knife in the book, then to Macey her eyes wide. "I- I-"

Macey sighed and rolled her eyes, "It's okay Tina, I was going to tell her anyway."

Tina sighed, obviously relieved. "Great," then turning to me, smiling she said, "You've got good aim, but your speed is lacking."

The rest of the day was spent packing, talking with Tina and listening to music as Macey and Tina talked spy stuff. Apparently we were meeting someone else at the airport in England too. That was fine, tomorrow we were going to London!

* * *

**Mystery POV**

I took a deep breath as I approached the door. I had just finished _acquiring_ everything we needed to leave tomorrow.

I picked the lock to the house we were now staying in. (Not that the owners _knew_ we were there. They were gone for the week.)

Walking in the first thing I noticed was how many pencils and pixie pictures were everywhere. The next were the knives flying through the air. I had been gone for a day to get the stuff we needed. How bad could they have gotten?

"Oi! What are you doing?" I yelled at the blonde.

She stopped throwing and looked at me. She looked seriously peeved. "Sorry. I was just trying to do something to keep me busy! You know, since you left for two days!"

I rolled my eyes. "One day, and you guys are being tracked by the CIA; I'm not letting you get sloppy because your bored! This is too important! Or do you not want to do this any more?"

That shut her up. "I thought so. Where's Pixie?"

"Outside."

"It's raining."

"I know! You know how she is!" the blonde said, clearly annoyed. "Oh, and by the way she's back."

"What? Since when?"

"Oh, she had a nightmare after you asked her to hack Langley. Apparently, that knocked her back into reality enough to come back to earth. She kept muttering stuff about her dad. I think that was her nightmare."

"You didn't try to comfort her?"

The blonde sent me a deadly glare.

I sighed. "Right, sorry, forgot who I was talking to," I muttered and went outside.

* * *

The backyard of the house was big for the actual size of the house. A play set was in the corner, on the other side there were two tall pine trees and a swing hung from one of the tree's branches. The little black haired girl was siting on the swing in the rain. As I approached her I heard her clear, soft voice singing quietly.

"_Let me stay, where the wind will whisper to me.,_

_Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story"_

"Hey, you."

The girl turned towards me. Her eyes were still wide, but they had lost childlike distance they had had since I broke her out, like she was dreaming. She looked more aware of her surroundings and less like she was seeing something that wasn't there. Now her eyes looked like they were seeing everything, analyzing and calculating, but not cruel- just awake.

"Hi," she said. Her voice sounded clearer too. Stronger, less distant.

We were silent for a while, just standing there, letting the cool rain drizzle down on us. After a few minutes she broke the silence, "It's strange."

"What is?"

She shook her head. "Being- I don't know, _back_ I guess. I've never gone for that long. Didn't know I could."

I nodded. I couldn't really understand what happened to her when she was in her- for lack of a better word-_ traces_. It seemed like she was half aware of things going on around her or like she was in a dream world. She always seemed like a five year old when she was in one. Except the drawings she did were better than professional sketch artist. All I knew was she seemed to go into one whenever she was in distress.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said, then scowled, "Not that the Viper in there was any help." She nodded toward the house, where we could still see knives flying around.

"You know how she is," I sighed. "So do you know everything?"

She nodded, her eyes growing misty, "We were caught that night," she said quietly.

"Yeah," I nodded, looking down. "I'm sorry I-"

"Not your fault," she said.

"Not yours either," I said, then added quickly, "Or hers," nodding towards the house.

"I know," then after a while she asked, "He never looked?"

I scoffed, "Of course not."

"And now it's the fourteenth of March, and we're leaving for London tomorrow."

I nodded. "I just got everything we need- passports, disguises, clothes, money, and the_ other _stuff."

She smiled and stood, "Well, being away for over nine months has left me stiff- wanna play?" she said, standing up.

I smiled and stood as well, "You're on."

I pounced at her, bringing out my dagger- only to stumble as she spun out of the way, grabbed my arm with the knife, twisted it until I was forced to drop it, let go and did a one-handed back flip before I even registered that I missed my target.

I stood there, staring at her as she did another back flip and jumped, grabbing the top bar on the small play set that was in the backyard. She pulled herself up and scaled the set until she was fifteen feet up and had nothing else to climb. She turned and smiled, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged, "It's been months; I forgot how good you were."

The petite, black haired girl laughed- a clear, sweet,_ rare _sound from her. She jumped, flipped midair and landed on her feet. "Catch me if you can!" she called as she dashed away.

I laughed as I ran after her. It was nice to have my cousin back.

* * *

**Zach: *taps foot and glares at Author***

**Author: Hehe, hi, Zach... Um, what's up?**

**Zach: I don't know! What _is_ up?**

**Author: ...**

**Zach: I thought _I _was supposed to be in this chapter. And you do realize you're not giving any answers at all! Just adding more questions and confusing people!**

**Author: Um, yeah, about that... You see, this chapter was really long, and I couldn't get you in this one...**

**Zach: Well I can _see_ that! But are you _ever_ going to give answers?!**

**Author: Of course! I already know when the big reveal chapter will be! **

**Zach: Oh really? When?**

**Author: Oh, can't tell you that...**

**Zach: Fine! But I better be in the next chapter!**

**Author: Don't worry, you will be...**

**Zach: And don't take so long!**

**Author: Okay! Okay! I'll try my best!**

**Zach: Goode. Now answer your reviews!**

**Author: Alright... Ummm... I guess that's that..**

* * *

** Hehe... I had fun with that.. Now for my wonderful reviewers!  
**

**Oh my gosh! I got so many! You guys have no idea how much I love reviews! **

**Stronger-Than-fear : Well, you do know I bit more than other readers, but I'm saving some twist to shock even you.. Hehe...**

**Bookwormbullet: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it! Hope you liked this one just as much! **

**Guest 1: I love to hear what you think! Hehe, but I'm not telling just yet... **

**Blessing: I love to hear theories! Thanks for reviewing! Well, they're connected to them... But I'm not saying how... **

**Guest 2: Glad you like it! I was hoping I kept Tina in character! She's fun to write! You're right! Bex is coming! (So is Liz but that a little later. **

**Matisse Gacioppo: **Well, I'm not saying if you're right or wrong... As for the black haired girl (codename Pixie) you got a little explanation why she was like that, more will be explained later... glad you like it! ****

**Guest 3: I love to hear ideas! Thank you! And if you like sci-fi and Gallagher girls you should check out Chameleon by Bookwormbullet, if you haven't...**

* * *

**Alright, so I promise I'll try to update sooner! Please REVIEW! -bookworm**


	6. London

**Hello! **

**See, told you I would update sooner! (kinda)...But, this chapter is over 4000 words!  
**

**I'm going to give you guys a warning now. I will probably less active during the month of August! I have 'realty business' to do. Even though it seems like it takes forever for me to update, I am actually writing everyday to get the chapter just the way I want it... I won't be able to do that in August... **

**Also, my birthday is Thursday! YAY! (from my writing, how old you guys think I am?)**

**Okay, so I'm excited for this chapter! Hope you guys like it!**

**Oh and if any of my readers are from England (or have been, or actually know what it's like,) I apologize in advance because I have never been to London, so if I write it wrong, sorry...**

* * *

**.o London o.  
**

* * *

**Zach POV**

I paced in the hotel room Joe and I were staying in, the stupid note looking up at me from the table. The note had appeared on the mat in front of the door of the hotel room Joe and I were staying. The security caught nothing of how it got there though. _Zachy, _the envelope said, in a penmanship I didn't know- I hated that name. Who would call me Zachy now? The only person who used to is dead. My mother destroyed herself with Gallagher. And the only one who knew she called me that was- Could it be? No. No, she's dead. Catherine said she was taken, and there is no way _they_ let her live after what she did. _We_ did.

_She was caught because of you- _a voice in my head said. No. She made her choices. She decided what she wanted to do. It was not my fault. Besides, I had looked. I had searched everywhere. I would have found her if she were alive.

But then again, there was that last line. _Oh, and have you heard about that crazy breakout at Youngblood? Tell Cammie I say hello._

This gave me the most worry out of the entire note. I had heard about the attack. I hadn't given it my full intention until now though. After I had read the note, I looked into the breakout. It was strange how little information I found. But the details I did find were scary.

If who was broken out is who I think they were, the President's daughter was in more danger than anyone thought. But who broke them out? Who would know them and help them? There was no one left. _Unless- _No. I would have found her if she were alive.

As much as that bothered me, there was also the fact they mentioned Cammie. Why would they mention Cammie?

I told Joe all my theories. He understood my worries and agreed that there was no reason to worry everyone about crazy ghost from the past, or to start worrying about Cammie- she could take care of herself. I just couldn't shake the feelings of anxiety that had curled into a knot in my stomach. I had been searching for weeks for something that might tell me who was behind this. Now that I actually had an idea, I almost wish I didn't know anything. Ignorance is bliss after all.

I tore off the bottom of the note and put it in my pocket. I was confused. But I knew one thing for certain. We needed to get to London.

* * *

**Bianca POV**

I was so excited! This was it! It was the day we were going to London!

The day started at six A.M. Macey and Tina had just finished overlooking all the security to the airport when I finished getting ready. I said a quick goodbye to my parents. (Not that they really cared. I'm pretty sure they were glad they wouldn't have to put up with me for the next week.) Then we were off to the airport.

We rode in a limo to the airport. Macey was riding with me, Tina was in the car behind us and other Secret Service guys were in the cars in front of us. It was a fun ride. Well, as fun as going over security plans with Macey is.

The security when we got to the airport was boring as always though; Because Macey wasn't in control of that. But soon we were on the private jet and flying across the Atlantic.

I passed the ten hours in different ways. I read a bit, listened to my favorite bands for a while, watched a movie, and talked to Macey and Tina a lot.

"So what did you want to do in London, Bianca?" Tina asked.

"Well, I've always wanted to ride on the London Eye," I answered. "I saw it when I was little and have wanted to ride it since. I've also always wanted to see Buckingham Palace, and some of the art museums, and well, just go there." I said. All of that was true, but not the full reason for wanting to go.

Tina nodded, "I get it. You've always heard about it and wanted to go."

"Yeah."

"Oh, is that all?" Macey asked, smirking.

"Uh-"

"Or is it also that you've always wanted to know what it would be like to be a whole continent away from your parents?" continued Macey. Ugh, she always knew.

I nodded. She didn't say anything else about it.

* * *

Later I took a nap. When I woke up Tina was on the phone and I couldn't see Macey. I lay still and listened to Tina on the phone; it seemed like it was important.

"Alright,- we should be landing in forty-five minutes- no- well tell him no- ugh, I know, I know- but- uh huh- greeaaat, what- but I thought you were- fine fine, Macey won't like it- alright, - wait, who's there?- uh huh, why?- alright I'll tell Macey- see you then," she hung up, then pressed the button that called to the pilot, "Macey, I need to talk to you- oh, and Bianca's awake."

Woah, she knew I was awake? I didn't even move or open my eyes! Okay, they are awesome.

I wondered who Tina was talking to. It sounded important. Macey came out of the cockpit. Wait, what was she doing in there? Can she fly a plane? It wouldn't surprise me too much.

While Macey and Tina talked, I went to the window and looked at the ground beneath us. It was so cool. I could see buildings made of stone and cobblestone streets, but we were up so high, they looked like a Lego toy set.

I had time to think while I was looking though, which I was trying to avoid. If I was alone for too long, I would start freaking myself out about the crazy attack a few weeks ago. I tried not to think or talk about it. Tina had tried to ask me about it, but Macey had shut her down. But, I knew there was a reason for all the extra security. Someone was after me; some crazy person thought it would be _fun_ to attack the President's daughter. Why would- _No. Stop it, Bianca._ I told Myself. _Macey won't let anything happen to you._

I snapped out of the freaky thoughts and looked out the window again. As I was looking, I could hear Macey and Tina's conversation across the plane. They seemed upset about something.

"Why would _they_ need to come? Did they find something?" Macey asked.

"She didn't say, but there's been a change in the line up," Tina said.

"What? Where? We agreed-"

"It wasn't _her_ decision," Tina said.

Macey groaned. "Ugh. Fine."

I think they said something else, but I couldn't understand it. It sounded like Chinese. They speak Chinese? They came back and Macey sat next to me.

"So we're going to land in a few minutes. Then we're going to go to the hotel for today; we'll do what you want tomorrow, alright?" She said. She phrased it like a question, but I knew I had no say in it.

"Alright," I said. Just then the pilot's voice came over the speaker.

"Alright, we are beginning our decent. Please remain seated and buckled up."

* * *

After we landed, we were met with a group of MI6 agents. As we walked to the cars, they stayed in perfect formation around us. When we got to the cars, someone stepped out of the formation. I turned and saw a stern looking man, with black hair, and professional looking posture stepping towards Macey. He looked like every other 'professional security agent' I've ever had. Well, I guess there was something different about him, but I couldn't place it.

I disliked him instantly.

"Miss McHenry, Miss Walters," the man greeted stiffly.

"Why couldn't -" Macey was cut off by Tina. She didn't seem too upset about it though- I'd noticed it happened a lot.

"Agent Townsend, it is good to see you. How-"

"Now is not the time for an interview, Miss Walters," Agent Townsend said curtly. Then he finally turned to me, "Miss Davis, I am here to-"

"To ensure my safety and help me have the safest possible trip- blah blah- protect me from crazy bomber guys- blah blah blah- I've heard it all before," I muttered. I couldn't stand that speech. Every guard ever feels the need to say it.

Agent Townsend looked like I almost surprised him- almost. A second later his stern mask was back onto place. He sighed, shaking his head. "I can see _you_ are her guard," he said to Macey. "The only one who would be worse would be Agent Cameron."

"Who?" I didn't know who he was talking about, but Tina seemed to.

"Oh!" Tina burst, "How are you and-"

"Miss Walters, I believe I said this is not the best place for an interview. We must get Miss Davis to the hotel." Agent Townsend said. He turned and got into the driver's seat of the car.

I turned in time to see Macey rolling her eyes. "C'mon, Bianca. Don't worry, he gets easier to be around after a while."

"You know him?"

She nodded, "Don't ask."

* * *

When we got to the hotel, we were met with more MI6 agents, but Macey and Tina seemed more excited about something. Then they both put their hands to their ears and grinned.

"Come on, Bianca," Macey said, leading me through the agents to the elevator. When we got to the twentieth floor, Macey and Tina grinned. I couldn't see anything to grin about though. I looked around, then jumped when I saw a girl appear seemingly out of nowhere. She looked the same age as Macey and Tina- how many young agents are there?

The girl had cappuccino colored skin, dark hair, and eyes the color of caramel. She looked like an exotic super model.

"Hello, Bianca," the girl said. Whoa, she had a perfect American accent. I thought she was MI6.

Then there was a squeal. The new girl was attacked in a hug from Tina. "Bex! Oh, gosh, it's been forever! How are you? What have you been doing? How's-"

"Tina!" Macey said, "Let her breathe."

"Right, right, sorry."

"It's good to see you again, Tina," the new girl- Bex apparently- said.

Then Bex turned to Macey and gave her a hug. "It's been too bloody long, Macey!"

"I know, Bex." Then Macey turned to me. "Bianca, this is my friend Rebecca-" she dodged a hit from the girl- "Baxter."

"Ha. Ha.- call me Bex," she said, glaring at Macey.

"Hi, Bex," I said. I liked this girl. She seemed cool, like Macey. Plus, it seemed like Macey and Bex were good friends. I wonder where they met- wait, could they be friends from school like Tina? If they were that would be _three _people from Gallagher that are spies. How did they train if they were at boarding school, unless - no that would be crazy. Besides, I'm just assuming Bex went to Gallagher.

Bex led us to our suit. It turns out Macey, Tina and Bex were going to be rooming with me. When we opened the door, I was surprised to see two guys in our room. One was older, about Agent Townsend's age. The other looked Macey and Bex's age. I seemed to be the only one surprised to see them though. Gosh, how many security agents do I need? Am I in that much danger? _Don't think about that._

"Hey, Zach, long time no see," Macey said, walking in.

The younger boy looked up from- assembling the outlet? "Hey, Macey, Tina."

"Hi, Zach. How have you been? Any leads on-"

"Tina," said the older man. Tina nodded.

After I thought about it, I remembered seeing Macey talking to this man before. I had never met him though. No one seemed to be taking a lot of notice of me, so I started backing away.

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard Macey and Bex say together. I turned back around to see everyone staring at me.

"Uh-"

Macey chuckled.

Bex pointed at the two guys. "Bianca, this is Joe Solomon and Zach Goode," Bex said. "They were just doing a bug sweep."

I nodded and waved. "Hi."

"Hello, Bianca," said Mr. Solomon. Zach just nodded and stared at me. He seemed worried about something- more than everyone else. I wondered why he was there. He didn't seem like my normal guards.

"Joe is Bianca's room cleared?" Bex asked.

Joe Solomon nodded, "Yes, it's clear."

"Bianca, why don't you start unpacking? We'll be there in a minute," Macey said.

"Okay," I said. _Great, a 'grown up' talk, and I hated unpacking as much as packing!_

"We'll help in a second. We just need to talk about some spy stuff- security details, very boring," Bex said, she had a thick British accent now. Huh.

"Alright," I said._ Sure, 'boring spy stuff'_ _yeah right_. But I left; I didn't want to hear all about potential threats to my life- _stop thinking like that!_ I went into my room in the suit. It was amazing. I large bed against the far wall, a tv was on the left wall. There were beautiful purple and green blankets and curtains- my two favorite colors! The dresser was black, like the bedpost and the floor had this cool black and green rug. I started unpacking for a few minutes. One stupid suitcase refused to open! After about fifteen minutes, I got bored. There was no music, and I normally had music when I was bored. I decided to go ask Macey where my ipod player was.

As I got closer to the door, I stopped because I heard them talking. But again, I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. They were talking in some language I had never heard. They seemed to be agitated about something- or maybe that was just how the language sounded.

I waited for a few more minutes, then finally they stopped talking. A minute later, Macey, Tina and Bex opened the door.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Bex answered, "Everything's bloody brilliant!"

"Oh, okay. Macey, I can't find my ipod player!"

* * *

**Macey POV**

"Bianca, why don't you start unpacking? We'll be there in a minute," I said. We needed to talk to Zach and Joe. They must have found a lead if they are here. They were not part of the plan.

Bianca's face dropped, "Okay," she said.

"We'll help in a second. We just need to talk some spy stuff- security details, very boring," Bex said in her normal accent. I rolled my eyes.

Bianca went to her room and closed the door. I hoped she was okay. She had been avoiding talking about the attack. Not that I wanted her to think about it a lot- I just didn't want her to be worrying and not tell me. But, right now I had bigger problems.

I turned to Bex. "_Boring spy stuff?_ Really?"

Bex snorted, "Yeah, I-"

"I believe we have matters to talk about," Mr. Solomon interrupted.

"Joe's right," Zach said. "This was delivered to our hotel room anonymously yesterday." He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

I leaned over, with Bex and Tina to read it. It seemed like a normal notebook page with red ink writing on it. The penmanship was one I didn't know.

_Really, Zachy? I'm disappointed you haven't figured it out yet; you used to be so clever. Oh well. Guess you won't be able to stop the attack in London. Too bad, I was hoping you would find me. See you as soon as you do.  
_

The bottom of the page was torn off. I wonder if the writer did that or Zach. I read it over three times. Then it was snatched off the table by Tina.

"_Zachy?_ Who would call you Zachy?"

We all looked to Zach. He shook his head and muttered, "No one." Watching his face I noticed that he kept his expression completely blank. Was he lying? Why would he be lying?

"Well, whoever they are, we are not letting anyone attack Bianca," Bex said, crossing her arms.

I heard a bang from Bianca's room. Bex walked over and looked in the room quickly. She closed the door again and shook her head, "She's just mad at a suitcase."

I nodded, thinking of the times I've caught Bianca listening in. I switched to Swahili, "Alright, lakini nini sisi kwenda kufanya kuhusu hili mshambuliaji siri?" I asked. We needed to have a plan.

"Vizuri, je, sisi kujua? Zach je, una wazo lolote nani huyu ni nani?" Tina asked. Though why I don't know. If Zach had any idea of who this was, he would have said so- right? No one asked why I had suddenly switched languages.

Zach shook his head. Though he still didn't meet anyone's eyes but Joe's.

"Well, we need to put additional monitoring on Bianca. And ensure this 'attack' it will never happen," Bex said in Swahili. I agreed- we will need to keep a very close watch on anything suspicious and keep someone with Bianca at all times. She may not like it, though.

"Joe and I will stick around here and help provide additional surveillance, but I'm going to keep looking for any more leads too," Zach said, continuing the Swahili. We all nodded. It was good to know that they were staying to help, but also nerve wracking they had to keep looking _here_ now.

We discussed the new schedule that Townsend had made to include Zach and Joe. Then Zach left with Mr. Solomon. After they left, Bex, Tina, and I went to help Bianca, who I knew was probably going mad with boredom.

"Is everything alright?" she asked when we came in.

Bex was the first to answer, "Oh yeah. Everything's bloody brilliant!"

"Oh okay." Bianca said, then she turned to me, "Macey, I can't find my ipod player!"

I laughed, "Come here; it's right in there," I said, opening a suitcase in the corner.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking and Bianca getting to know Bex. She seemed to like her. Later, Tina pulled me aside while Bex was teaching Bianca British phrases and how to speak with a British accent.

"Did you notice the way Zach was acting?" Tina whispered.

"Yeah," I nodded, "I think he knows more than he's saying."

"He's been acting weird since he found out about the breakout at Youngblood," Tina said.

"Do you think he knows the girls who escaped?" I asked.

"I don't know, but the way he and Mr. Solomon were looking at each other makes me think they both know more than they're saying."

I thought about this. "Well," I said finally, "If they do, they must not be telling us for a reason. I don't believe they would keep anything we really needed to know a secret."

Tina nodded. "Okay, I just don't like not knowing something."

I snorted, "I know. But you know we have to be 'need to know only' people."

She sighed, "I know."

* * *

**Bex POV**

It was good to see Macey and Tina again. I hadn't seen Macey since my birthday in April. Bianca seemed like a cool girl too.

Three days after they came to London, everything was going to plan. Bianca had been able to visit the London Eye like she wanted on her birthday, and she got to go to some cool art museums. That day we were visiting the Tower of London. Turns out, as much as she acted like this girl who finds things like history, art, and governments boring, Bianca is really enjoying all the stuff she's seen and I had been telling her.

We were walking around the tower. Bianca was with me, Macey was tailing us, and Tina was in front of all of us. Agent Townsend was watching all the transportation routes within half a mile from the bridge. Zach and Joe were tailing us and roaming around here somewhere. Then there were all the other MI6 and CIA agents scattered around us. Bianca was well protected.

Zach still seemed to be acting strange. I just _knew_ he was not telling us something. I just didn't know what- or _why._

It was getting dark and we were getting ready to head back to the hotel. I saw the woman, by the coffee stand holding two cups- the signal that it was all clear to move. I nodded and continued to answer Bianca's questions.

"So they say if the ravens leave, London will fall?" Bianca was asking.

"Yup, they even clip their wings so they can't fly away."

Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Until...

"Peacock, Duchess, I have suspicious movement on the bridge," I heard Townsend's voice in my ear. I changed Bianca and my course instantly. I started leading her toward the safety of the tower.

"Copy that, Capricorn. Miss Know It All, what is your position?" I heard Macey ask.

"East alley- Nightingale would be clear here. Wise Guy, what's your position?"

"I'm investigating the bridge, Shadow will be there with the car in less than two minutes," I heard Joe's reply.

Everyone continued there course. Then we all heard something that sent a panic through us all. A small, strange girl's voice giggled, "That's all we need."

Instantly all of us tensed and moved with a new urgency. Someone was on our comms. How was that possible? Someone knew what we were going to do. MI6 and CIA agents swarmed out of the crowd, looking for the threat. I saw Macey break ranks to run towards me and Bianca. As I rushed her to the tower, Bianca panicked. "What's going on? Macey!"

No one talked on the comms; we couldn't risk anything. Suddenly there was a muffled cry, then nothing but static in my ear. A gunshot rang out, and all the lights went out.

"Macey!"

I warned Bianca to be quiet. Tourist screamed and ran around panicking. I was hit by a sense deja vu. Memories of when I was seventeen and Cammie was staying with my family for protection flashed through my mind. Another shot rang out. I remembered watching as my parents corner Joe Solomon on the bridge. I grabbed Bianca's hand tighter and pulled her closer to the tower. The emergency lights flashed on. Then I heard another shot, and saw the bullet hit the ground two feet in front of me. I pulled Bianca to the right. Macey was ten feet behind us. Another bullet hit the ground two meters in front her. She swerved, rolled, jumped back up and grabbed Bianca's other hand.

We ran through the screaming tourists. Another gunshot hit the ground behind us. I could tell Bianca was going into shock. Once we got to the street, we saw a car speeding towards us. Zach stopped in front of us, and we shoved Bianca into the car, jumping in after her.

"Drive!" Macey and I yelled. We ripped out our comms and threw them out of the car; who knows if they were tracking us.

"What's going on?" Bianca yelled. "Where are they? _Who_ are they?" She sounded like she was about to cry.

"Bianca, it's going to be alright, okay! You're going to be fine!" Macey said as I gave Zach directions on where to go. No one said anything else until we swerved through a tunnel and drove straight at a wall.

"You're driving into a wall!" Bianca screamed.

But in a few seconds we were entering a wide station, filled with other cars, steel staircases and swarming MI6 agents. As we got out of the car, I heard Bianca ask Macey where we were.

"Bex?" Macey asked.

I turned and said, "Baring Cross Station. You're safe here, Bianca."

* * *

**Ahahaha! Okay first to MrsMellarkandEaton (who I know reads this) I apologize for the ending, because I'm pretty sure I just killed you.  
**

**Second. If anyone skipped the top A/N please go read it! It has an important announcement..**

**Third. I have exiting news! I have planed it out, and chapter Seven will be the BIG chapter! (this was chapter five)**

**Fourth, ****Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They make me so happy!**

**Fifth, ****my birthday is Friday! YAY! (from my writing, how old you guys think I am?)**

**Now to my wonderful reviewers!**

* * *

**Lanoon: **I am so happy you like it! Your review made my day! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am sorry because it might be a bit until I update again though... I will, I promise!

**Guest 3: **lol, Um.. if you review again, could you use a name please? haha.. Anyway, thank you for the reviews! I love Chameleon too... I'm glad you like Pixie! We will learn more about her in chapter seven! YAY! As for your guesses... Believe it of not, that one is not too crazy.. I'm not saying any more until the BIG chapter though...

**Fluffy. Has. a. Max: **Yes, cousins! Don't worry, a lot will be explained in chapter seven! This was chapter five so only one more! Woo Hoo!

**Stronger-than-fear: **Yup, I can't wait for you to see the twist! Thanks for Betaing!

**Bookwormbullet:** No problem on the reviews! You review for me so much, it's the least I could do! Your reviews always make me grin (and sometimes hop up an down in excitement) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**Matisse Gacioppo: **Thank you for the review! I know I probably missed stuff in the last chapter, since my beta was unable to read it beforehand... I'll try to fix it though.. Your guesses are getting closer and closer, but I'm not saying until chapter seven- this was five. How do I enter the contest? I sooo want to now!

* * *

**Now... I OWN NOTHING IN ANY OF THESES CHAPTERS! (except plot, and the three mystery girls)  
**

**Okay, I hope you guys liked this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!- Bookworm**


	7. What do you know?

**I'm baacck! *thunder clap with lighting***

**Did you miss me? Or well, if not me, the story? **

**So ANNOUNCEMENT! I know I said chapter seven will be the big reveal chapter. It still will be, but... This chapter (chapter six) is so long I cut it in half. So this is part one and part two will be uploaded when I choose. It's already written and edited, but I like the suspense! I'm sorry for any confusion. If you are confused let me know.**

**Also, I apologize for the lack of CAMMIE! Please bear with me through this and part two! After that almost every chapter will have Cammie! She has a MAJOR roll in this, so just please give me one more update. After that, our Chameleon will return! **

**On another note, to everyone who guessed my age, I am now 15! Are any of you surprised? **

**Alright, I'll let you read the story now, this chapter is more of a filler (sorry) but it's necessary. Part two has the action... **

* * *

**.o What do You Know? o.**

* * *

**Macey POV**

"That's it! What do you know?"

"Macey, I don't-"

"No, Zach! You are not telling us something, and Bianca is paying for it! Spit it out!"

"I can't! It's dangerous; I'm not even sure if it's right!"

It had been five hours since the attack at London Tower, fifteen minutes past midnight. We were in a room in the middle of the maze of hallways that was Baring Cross Station. Bianca had been taken to a safe room and I had just left her to talk to the others. Well, by 'talk to the others' I mean 'demand the truth out of Zach.' I knew he had been keeping something, but I had trusted he would tell us if he thought Bianca would get hurt. Obviously I was wrong.

"I thought I could trust you to tell me if you knew anything!" I yelled. I knew I needed to keep calm, but I was scared. Bianca had been attacked twice now. We needed to keep her safe. I wouldn't be able to bear it if anything hurt her. She was like a little sister to me. I was probably getting too attached to Bianca, but I didn't care. I just wanted her safe.

Zach opened his mouth, but was cut off by Solomon.

"Macey, Zach has his reasons for silence. I thought I taught you better than this."

I sighed, "You did." I needed to keep my emotions in line. The field is not a place for feelings. Feelings make you sloppy, being sloppy gets you killed. I turned to Bex, who was sitting at the steel table in the middle of the room with Tina. "What do we know?" I asked her.

Bex looked at me. "The comms database was hacked. The agents running it were found unconscious in a car two blocks away. When they came to, they had no memory of the past week. They regained their past memories with treatment, but they still don't remember today."

_Great_, that's just what we needed. Whoever did this knows what they're doing. At least, they had the sense to clean up after themselves. That was bad for us. I sighed and nodded. "_And_?" There was always an 'and' with things like this.

"And when we investigated the database, we found nothing to track. No trace, no code, nothing," Tina said.

"So, what does this tell us?" I asked. If we couldn't track them, then there were only a handful of people who could.

"That whoever hacked the database is good."

"Exactly." I turned back to Zach. "Do you have anything to add?"

To my surprise, he nodded, "You won't find anything to track yourselves. There's only three people on the planet I know would be able to." Well _duh,_ I knew that. We needed someone who knew computers even better than we did. Someone who was the smartest Gallagher Girl of her class. Someone who happened to be still at Gallagher helping teach Advanced Encryption right now.

"Who?" piped Tina. Huh, I would have thought she would have known. Or maybe she did but couldn't help the urge to ask anyway.

"Liz."

We all turned to Bex, who had given the answer. She was sitting casually, legs crossed, hands playing with a bracelet that happened to contain a tiny camera and microphone. She spoke so calmly, like she was just having lunch with us, staring at Zach.

"She's who you're talking about right?"

Zach nodded.

"Okay, so we get Liz here and have her track down the hackers!"

"It won't be that easy," Zach muttered.

"What? How do you know?" Tina asked.

"Because he knows who is doing this and not telling us," I muttered. Okay, I knew I needed to stop, but I couldn't shake the feeling it was true. I hated not being told something so important, no matter the reason.

"No, I don-"

"Then how do you know it won't be that easy?" I yelled, my pent up anger and worry gushing out.

"Because nothing ever is!" He cried. "When, in this line of work, is it ever that easy?" Great. Now I'd done it. Zach looked so upset.

"Zach-"

"If it was that easy, I could have stopped the attack in London!" He looked so weak in that moment. I wish I knew what was going on with him. Guilt started to break the surface as I realized just how badly I had been treating him. I trusted Zach with my life. It wasn't fair to treat him as if he was a double agent-regardless of the secrets.

"Zach-" I tried again, guilt rising. I knew Zach had honestly tried to prevent any attack. My fear for Bianca had blinded me to that. But I still did believe he knew a lot more than he was telling us. My saying that was cut off by the door opening.

Agent Townsend entered the room. He had been searching the crime scene again. When I looked in his eyes, I couldn't read them, but his posture and the way he was walking towards Joe and Zach made me think he found something.

Townsend walked across the room stiffly, stopping only a foot away from Mr. Solomon. He leaned in and said something quietly in his ear, trying not to let us hear. He had always underestimated Gallagher Girls, and this was no exception; but from what his body language showed, this time it could be pinned down to worry.

I didn't exactly hear all of what he said, but it seemed like he wanted Joe and Zach to come look at something at the attack scene. Townsend turned to Zach and handed him a piece of paper. Zach visibly paled as he heard whatever his father had just told him. He opened the paper, glanced at it for four seconds, then wadded it up and stuck it in his mouth. It must have been Evapopaper.

Bex, Tina, and I were dying to know the new information Townsend seemed to have. Tina was the first to voice our question. Or in her case questions.

"What's going on? Did you find something? Is-"

"Miss Walters, if it concerned _you_ I would have told _you_."

Tina shrunk down in her seat. Townsend and Joe were the only people I've ever known that could make Tina stop her questions that quickly. It was impressive and scary.

Joe turned back to the three of us. "You three take care of Bianca. We need to discuss some things," he said.

Joe then turned and calmly strode out of the room, followed by Zach and his father. Once they were gone, Bex slapped her hands down on the table.

"Alright, enough drama. We don't have time for it," Bex stated. "We need to focus on _our_ mission." She was right. Worrying about what others know wasn't going to help Bianca.

"I'll get Liz to come, but we need to figure out where to take Bianca."

"You're right. Bianca needs to be relocated, now," I said. "We need somewhere with advanced security measures and twenty-four hour guards."

"She won't like that," Tina mumbled.

"I don't care. I've been her friend too much; I need to make her protection my number one priority." I should've seen theses attacks coming, but I had been too occupied worrying about Bianca. She was probably going to get upset with me, but I was not risking her safety any longer. I needed to make sure she was safe, no matter what. Even if it meant tracking down these nut jobs myself.

"So, what? We keep her at a safe house?" Bex asked. "You know as safe as could be, there is always a chance they could find her."

"Yeah, and whoever these maniacs are, they have already proved they can hack Langley," I said. "We have to keep Bianca's security private."

"Wait, isn't it obvious?" Tina burst. "There's only one option for Bianca." She let that hang in the air for a moment, then added, "Gallagher."

* * *

**Bianca POV **

Have you ever been so bored you start talking to yourself? Like actually having a whole conversation with yourself out loud? Yeah, that's about how bored I was a long time after Macey left.

I say a long time because no one in that freakin' spy prison of a safe room would give me the time of day! I mean, sure it's a top security place, but what danger would I be in if I knew what time it was!? I didn't know where I was or what had just happened. All I knew was that if someone didn't start talking soon, I was going to kill somebody.

Of course Macey had come with me to the room, after some guys in suits looked me over and asked me some stupid questions. 'How are you feeling? Did anyone hurt you? Did you see anyone suspicious' _A__re you kidding me?_ Someone just tried to kill me! Of course I'm not alright! Did I see anything suspicious? Hm, let me think. Oh yeah, there was that one guy _WHO TRIED TO SHOOT ME_! Other than that I think everything was pretty normal. Except for the spies going into panic and dragging me here, of course.

I didn't actually _say _any of that though. I only thought of it afterwards. While they were actually asking me, all I could do was nod, considering I was in shock.

After the guys let me leave, Macey brought me here and told me everything would be alright, that I was safe here. All the while I threw a tantrum, screaming and crying. Macey eventually calmed me down. She had stayed with me until I was calm enough to lie down and sleep. She told me she would explain everything later.

She'd better. I had I right to know why I had to fear for my life- no. Don't think about that. Macey wouldn't let anyone hurt me.

When I woke up, I was alone. I finally looked around the room I had been brought to. My first impression? Silver. Metal walls, metal ceiling, metal floor, metal everything. I just couldn't see a door, which freaked me out, but I knew I had to of come into the room through a door, so there must be one somewhere.

In the metal prison room there was a steel bed- if you could call it that- with a thin mattress, a light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and a silver table with two metal chairs. On the table someone had placed a glass of water and three pieces of peanut butter toast. I had gotten up and eaten my toast, massaging the crick in my neck. I mean seriously, why can't spies afford a little more comfortable beds?

That had been what feels like hours ago. Since then I had paced, sang, cried, danced, sat, slept, and just plain screamed; no one came. No one checked on me. No one told me anything. Sure, I'm just the girl who just had her bloody life threatened; why tell me anything? And yes, I said 'bloody.' It's something Bex taught me.

I knew someone had to be watching me. Even though I couldn't see any cameras, I knew they were there. That's one thing you learn having spy guards- they see _everything._

Well, everything but a guy with a gun.

No. Don't let yourself think about that! If I started dwelling on the fact that I was wanted dead, I don't know what I would, would... I wiped away the moisture in my eyes, angry at myself for crying. _Again_. I had made an oath to myself years ago, when my father first started getting high in politics, that I would never cry again. An oath that this stupid attacker had made me break too many times.

I wished Macey would hurry back. I wished I wasn't terrified. I wished I knew what was going on. I wished this stupid terrorist would leave me alone. I wished my dad never got into politics! I wished- I wished- I just wished I had someone on _my side. _Not security, not politicians, not reporters and their audiences. I wanted a friend.

I let myself cry for two more minutes, then told myself to suck it up. I hated the fact these people made me cry. That they could make me this scared. The one thing I had tried to do was keep it inside. Not let myself dwell on it. Not break down and cry in a little ball. I hated that I was like that, but mostly, I hated that people could see me like that. No one had mentioned it though. I think they knew I didn't want them to.

After what felt like an eternity, the door finally revealed itself. A piece of the wall slid away, and in walked Macey, Tina, and Bex. They looked tired. There were dark circles under their eyes, and their posture was sagged. Yet, all three girls looked as if they were ready to take on terrorists. It must be a spy thing.

They just stared at where I was hanging upside down on the metal bench of a bed, like a five year old on a sofa, for a while. I straightened myself and stared back, refusing to be the one to break the silence.

Finally, Bex spoke. "Hey, Bianca. How-"

"Do not ask me how I bloody am," I said in a flat voice.

Macey sighed, but the other girls showed no expression at all.

"What time is it?"

"Two twenty-seven pm, on the nineteenth of March."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "And is someone _finally_ going to tell me what's going on?"

Macey sighed and crossed the room to sit on the bed next to me. Bex and Tina brought the chairs closer to us and sat down. Macey cleared her throat and began her long over due explanation.

"While we were at London Tower, someone hacked our comms. We don't know who or how, but they did. Whoever it was got away while we were making sure you got here-"

"Where exactly is _here_?" I cut her off.

"A MI6 base," Bex answered.

"I'm not getting more than that, am I?"

"Nope."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Fine."

Macey nodded and continued. "After I left last night, we had a meeting to discuss what our next move is."

_"And?_" I asked. "What remote prison of a place are you sending me next?"

"We've decided it's best to keep the CIA out of your security detail. Instead we are sending you to one of the safest places in the world, which happens to be one of our favorite places in the world."

One of their favorite places? Where could that be? I was in too foul a mood to wonder about it much, so instead I whined._ "Will you just tell me?"_

Tina was the one to answer. She looked as if she was deciding to grin or look sad. Eventually the grin won. "You're going to The Gallagher Academy!" She said excitedly, though her face sank a second later when she remembered _why _I needed to go there_._

Wait, The Gallagher Academy? Why there? How was an all girls boarding school one of the safest places in the world? It took a few moments of looking at all three of their small grins to remember all my observations about them and that school. Macey said she had 'special training' even though she went to Gallagher since she was fifteen. She was ready to join the Secret Service by the time she was eighteen. Tina had let it slip that she went to Gallagher too. Macey had acted like it was some secret when she did. I had found out over the time of the trip that Tina had joined the agency at eighteen too. Bex was exactly Tina and Macey's age. She also seemed to be best friends with Macey. Now they were claiming The Gallagher Academy was one of the safest places in the world.

It couldn't be a coincidence.

There was more than met the eye with Gallagher.

All three girls were looking to see what my reaction would be. I shrugged and said, "You mean the all girls spy school you guys went to?"

Bex's eyes widened, Macey blinked, and Tina started to get a little excited again, "Yes! Isn't it amaz- wait." She stopped and stared at me, realizing what I had said.

I smirked. "What? I had time to think in here. Did you think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Bex raised an eyebrow. "I never said I went to Gallagher."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, please. Why would it be one of your favorite places if you never went?"

Macey smirked. "She's got you there," she said to Bex.

"Okay, so when do I get out of this place?" I asked.

"As soon as we can get the security cleared. We've discussed it, and Bianca, I won't be able to go with you," Macey said. She wasn't going to come? Why?

"You'll be safe at Gallagher, and Tina's going back with you. I need to stay here to find these terrorists and stop them. I'll come back as soon as they're gone, alright?"

I didn't know what to think. Macey had been the reason I was still sane. She had been with me for so long. The only person who knew me was her. Sure, I knew I was going to be at one of the safest places ever, and she needed to do this; but it would be hard without her.

I looked up at her and nodded. "Okay," I whispered. Then to try to lighten things I said, "How hard could it be to take these guys down? I mean they can't be that good if their aim was so bad they came closer to hitting you two than me." I pointed at Bex and Macey.

All three girls froze. Then glanced at each other with wide eyes, but were back to normal in a second. Tina laughed strangely, "Yeah, they did have terrible aim, didn't they?"

* * *

**Soooo... What do you guys think? Remember this is only part one of the chapter... I apologize for the lack of action and Cammie. Bear with me ONE MORE UPDATE please, please please! There's more action coming next. I wanted to wait until I had finished writing chapter seven to post six, but I felt bad for making you guys wait so long.**

**Now for my ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS! **

**Bookwormbullet: **I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you liked this one just as much! Also, about my age, if you read the A/N, then you know that I'm now 15! You got it! **  
**

**Stronger-Than-Fear: **Well, here's more! haha... But I'm guessing since you are my beta, you want more right now, considering you saw this chapter before anyone else. I'll get to work! Thanks for Betaing!

**Sunniva Steiner: **I'm glad that you 'Lobe love love' the story! I love hearing that people are enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing! Thanks for the review!

**SoulofEssence: **Thank you for the review! I was writing and realized how much it resembled the atrack on Cammie. (Which worked in my favor) I apologize for the lack of Cammie, but don't worry! She will be in this VERY VERY SOON and has a major (MAJOR) part to play in the story!

**Matisse Gacioppo: **If you are Viper in real life, I'm scared, because I know just what Viper can do. We get Liz in part two. Don't worry! Cam has a huge roll in this, starting next chapter SOON! On your guess, we are so close the the reveal, I'm not saying anything. And I am now 15! Woohoo! Thanks for the review! (Haha, rhyme)

**Theonelives: **Well, I plan on finishing it! Let's see if I can! Thanks for the review!

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: **Sorry it took so long, but I hope you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

**Evelyn: **Well, I agree it would be cool if I was turning 16 with Bianca, but alas, I'm only 15. But thank you for the compliment on my plot planning skills! I'm super excited for the next chapter too! (and I know what happens!)

**Lanoon: **I feel bad for making you wait so long. But it makes me so happy to hear you like my story! Hopefully you like this chapter as much as the rest! Next is a lot more action! Yay! And Cammie's coming extremely soon!

**Crazyshay77: **Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it!

**XxCandyyGirlxX: **Whoo hoo! Someone who normally doesn't like mysteries likes my story! I'm glad it's not too boring! Thanks for reviewing!

**Kitty-2002: **I am so glad you like my story! It's so much fun to write, and seeing that people enjoy it makes it even more fun!

**Guest: **You have no idea how your simple "uuuppppdaaatee" made me so happy! Me then guilty for not updating quicker, but so happy that you like my story so much! I remember myself posting those reviews on my favorite stories, and now you did it on mine! I was so excited! And you actually gave me a boost to finish writing the next one!

I am not Ally Carter, therefore do not own Gallagher Girls...

**Please REVIEW! - S **


	8. ACE

**I OWN GALLAGHER GIRLS BECAUSE MY NAME IS ALLY CARTER! Haha- NOT! Why does Fanfiction need disclaimers? I don't own it... That's why I'm here...**

**Sorry about that false alert! I accidentally put the wrong doc up and had to delete it quickly! **

**Who saw the M****ockingjay trailer? Wasn't it amazing! I made a few edits, and posted them on Instagram. If anyone wants to see my account name is in my bio. **

**Sooo... Now we get the action! H****ere is part two! Enjoy!**

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**.o ACE o.**

* * *

**Zach POV**

This could not have been happening.

As soon as Townsend-my _Dad_\- walked in the room, I knew something was wrong. Or, more wrong than Bianca being attacked when I should have been able to stop it. I knew Macey was just worried about Bianca, but her being convinced of me knowing who was behind this stung. I may not have known exactly who it was, but I did have a very good guess. Guilt struck me every time I denied knowing, but I couldn't tell them yet. Not unless I was positive my worry- and secret hope- was correct. Because when I did tell them, I'm not sure how much they would trust me after they knew my secret. But, my hopes of being wrong had been crushed with the piece of Evapopaper Townsend had handed me.

_Oh, Zachy, I'm disappointed. Hopefully my little hint will help you figure this out.  
_

The note didn't give me any hint on who sent it with the content. But the penmanship was one I recognized but hadn't seen in over a year. There was no signature on the paper, yet it filled me with dread and hope seeing it. I stuck the note in my mouth, and it dissolved into my favorite flavor, cinnamon apple. There was only one thing I needed to be sure about who this was. I wasn't sure if I would be happy or terrified when I found out. My emotions had been so mixed that week. I was torn between fear, hope, anger, dread, and guilt. But I needed to find out who this was.

Townsend said we needed to see the crime scene _now. _So Joe and I followed him out the door. When we got to the scene my worst fear and greatest hope were confirmed. On the ground, where the bullets had hit, were three painted letters connecting the bullet marks, like a giant connect the dots game.

_ACE_

We just stared at them for a minute, then Joe turned to me.

"Does this mean something to you?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yes." They were alive. Somehow _she_ survived. I should have known. She always survived.

Joe nodded. Townsend was staring at me with an unreadable expression. Then he turned to Joe, "We've been scouting this area since the attack, yet no one has any idea how this got here."

"And you won't. If these people don't want to be caught, they won't be," I muttered.

"Zach, you know who this is?"

I looked my father in the eye. A war was going on in my head. One part of me knew I should tell him- that I should have told him a long time ago, but the other half told me to keep quiet for a little bit longer. I didn't want to keep secrets, and he had a right to know, but there are some things that would cause more damage said than unsaid. For now at least.

"Yes."

Suddenly, I felt something hit the back of my head. I turned to see a paper airplane land at my feet. Not even bothering to look for the sender, I picked it up and walked away from Joe and my dad to read it.

_About time! Do you think you know what to do now?_

I nearly laughed. I could nearly hear the writer's sarcastic voice. Then I remembered what this meant, dread settling back in. Sticking the paper in my mouth, I turned back to Joe and Townsend.

"Yes, I know who this is, and I know that I am the only person who will ever be able to find them," I said, choosing my words carefully. I turned to Joe, "Do you know where the guys are?"

Joe raised and eyebrow, "Yes, turn around."

Confused, I turned to see a guy standing with some other agents in front of three computers. The guy was skinny, had short, curly, black hair, and was wearing wire glasses.

"Jonas?" I asked as I ran over to him.

The boy looked up, "Zach! You're here! Did you see the-"

I grabbed his arm and dragged him away, "Not here."

* * *

I dragged Jonas to a deserted alley. When we were far enough from the crime scene, I turned to him.

"How are they alive? I thought they were caught! Did you know about this?" He demanded. Of course I didn't know they were alive! He had searched with me! He would have been the first person I would have told if I knew they were alive.

"No. No, I didn't know, okay! I should have, but I have no idea how they're alive!" I spat.

Jonas seemed to understand that I was on edge. He sighed, "Look, we'll never find anything out by staying here. Do you know what they want? Why are they are coming out now if they survived?"

"I have a guess, but we need to pick someone up before we go looking for them."

Jonas nodded. "I know. Does anyone else know who they are?"

I shook my head, "No. Not even my dad; but I'm pretty sure Joe has a guess."

He nodded. "When do we leave?"

"Now."

* * *

**Mystery POV**

_"Finally!"_

"Well, it's Zach. Did you really expect him to catch on any quicker?"

I turned towards the blonde. Sometimes I seriously wondered the way she saw people. I already knew her childhood had changed her views dramatically, but had she thought that I didn't think that Zach would have figured it out faster? He should have known a lot sooner, but of course, he had gone _CIA. _I should have known he would have given up our ways. He might have forgotten some even.

"Yes," I muttered, turning back towards the monitors that showed us everything the MI6 and CIA's cameras were picking up. I admit that the systems had indeed improved. It still only took Pixie a few minutes to hack them though.

Watching Baxter and McHenry's reactions to my cousin's presence in their ears had been hilarious. Watching then run around as Viper and I shot at them was pretty amusing too. Of course we weren't _really_ trying to shoot our target- only close enough to scare them. And possibly give them a clue to their mystery.

Early this morning, it had only been a matter of looping the 'good guys' footage and waiting for the right moment to leave our final clues for Zachy. Now, it finally seemed he guessed who we were. Though I was honestly shocked it had taken him that long to figure it out. I should have known though. He always did underestimate me.

"I love being up here! It's so high! Like being in a castle!" the little, black haired girl said airily.

"Shh!" the blonde hissed.

Pixie ignored her. "With all these bricks, it does seem like we're in a castle. Don't you think so?" she asked. Not waiting for anyone to answer, she continued, "I think it seems like a castle."

"You little Pixie, if you start-"

"_Above the plains, up on the hill, there stood a castle bold-"_

The blonde started reaching for her knives on her belt. I grabbed the her hand, before she could maim my cousin.

"_A gleaming palace, made of white, a pillar to behold."_

She turned to me, eyes flashing. "Make. It. Stop," she hissed.

I turned to my cousin. "Hand me that paper airplane," I told her, pointing to the paper next to her.

She stopped singing and handed it to me, and I walked down the hall to the window facing the scene of our latest 'project'. I aimed, then tossed the plane into the air. I turned and walked back to the room the girls were in, knowing the plane had hit Zach in the head. Looking at the monitors, I watched him pick it up and read it. Zach stuck the paper in his mouth and went back to the traitors he was talking to.

A second later, we watched as he ran over to a guy near the computers.

"Is that Jonas?" Pixie cried.

Viper rolled her eyes. "Are you still-"

"Sh!" I cut her off. I turned back to the screens. Zach was dragging the skinnier boy into a alley. I typed a few keys and the alley popped up on the monitor.

Zach and Jonas talked for a few minutes, then they both walked back to Joe. Zach told him something, and the two boys disappeared from the scene.

I turned to the girls behind me. "Well, girls, they know; and if I know them, they're going to get the third musketeer. It's time for phase two."

* * *

**Bex POV**

Three days.

That's how long it took for everything to be cleared for Bianca's flight back to America. That's how long it took for Mrs. Morg- Solomon to get Bianca attendance to Gallagher. That's how long it took for Liz to get to London. And that's how long it had been since Zach disappeared.

When Joe and Townsend came back, there was no sign of Zach. We asked where he was of course, but Joe and Townsend said nothing. I didn't have time to look into it, though. Macey, Liz and I had bigger problems to deal with.

Liz had come as soon as I told her the situation. She arrived shortly before Bianca left with Tina. Macey seemed to be doing okay, but I could tell she had been trying not to show Bianca how nervous she was.

We were currently at the scene of the attack. We had just come from saying goodbye to Tina and Bianca. Bianca had seemed interested in meeting Liz, since she had been helping Mr. Mosckowitz and Dr. Fibbs for the past few months. They seemed to get along. When it was time for Bianca to leave, we said goodbye. Macey and Bianca had a moment together, then Tina and Bianca left for the plane owned by Gallagher.

After they had left, we took Liz to the crime scene. What we found was shocking. The agency had finished the official search of the place yesterday. We were free to look into it ourselves. No one had told us that something had changed since we last saw it. Three letters had been spray painted where the bullets had hit.

_ACE_

Ace? Who was Ace? What did that bloody mean?

Of course, Liz immediately ran it through every CIA and MI6 data base. But she found nothing, and Liz hates not finding something.

"I don't understand! There has to be something! A operation, a mission, a code name, something!"

"Calm down, Lizzie," Macey said. "There's nothing there."

Liz looked like she was about to pop. "But-"

"Liz!" I snapped. "There's nothing there. So what does that _mean?_"

Liz's eyes went wide. "It means nothing has ever been entered into the system under that name or it was erased."

"Exactly. So, we first need to find out who was in our comms, before we look into that. Do you think you could trace the hackers?"

Liz looked offended I had to ask. "Of course! I just need the system you were using."

* * *

The next day we were back at the site of the attack. We had needed to get permission to have access to the system, and that had taken all the day before. Liz had asked us to put in the comms, to see if she could duplicate the hack, then track where the original came from. Now Liz was typing away, plugging in wires here and there, while Macey and I discussed what Bianca had said a few days before.

"She was right," Macey said. "The first bullet landed in front of you. If they had been aiming for Bianca, why would they shoot that far ahead of you?"

I shook my head. It didn't make sense. Remembering what happened next, I said, "The bullet that did land behind me- it landed a lot closer to you than Bianca too."

"What if Bianca really wasn't their target?" Macey asked. "What if it was _us_?" It was crazy, but I certainly couldn't deny that was the way it seemed. But if we were the targets, why was there the attack in D.C.?

"If we were the targets, why wait until we were around Bianca to attack?" I asked.

Macey thought about it for a minute. Then her eyes went wide. "Cover," she said. "It's the perfect cover. If they plotted the attacks to make it look like they were after Bianca, we would be distracted with Bianca's security and not go after them the way we would if it was obvious they were after an agent."

It was scary how much sense that made. I shook my head, trying to digest the new theory. "It makes a lot of sense, but we still don't have any proof it's correct."

"Plus, who would be attacking you guys?" Liz piped up from her nest of wires and screens.

"Liz, it would actually make more sense for someone to be attacking us than Bianca. We have a lot more threats to us from our occupation," Macey told her.

"True, but who do you think this could be if you guys are the targets?"

Dozens of names raced through my head. Macey was right. In our line of work, we did have a lot of people who would want to attack us. Though, I still had know idea what the _ACE _meant.

Suddenly, a strange cross of a scream and groan came from Liz.

"I can't get this! How can I not get this? I _made _this! How can I not figure out how it was hacked? It makes me feel absolutely blind!" She screeched.

Both Macey and I opened our mouths to say something, but we never got to. A crackle of static burst in our comms we were wearing. A small, light, sing-song voice spoke in our ear. A voice Macey and I had heard once before.

"Oh, lookie. Trying to find the hack code on the base? So silly."

Instantly, Liz was typing, tracking where the hack was coming from. Macey and I rushed to the windows to look for any clue to where the hacker was.

"Look at them running around. So funny," the voice in our ear said.

"Shush!" hissed another.

"Oh, lighten up. The little blind mice won't find the code in time," the first voice giggled.

Liz suddenly jumped up, and turned a laptop to face us. The screen showed a map of the area. There was a blue dot on our position, and a red, blinking dot on the building across from us. If the hackers were that close, how did we not notice them? The three of us took off through the door. We split up as we ran, to surround the building.

The first voice in my ear had begun to sing.

"_Three blind mice, __Three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run-_ Ow!"_  
_

"Shush! Come _on,_" hissed the second voice. There was a muffled crunching, then nothing but static.

By the time I got to my entrance to the building, there was only light static in my comms. As I turned a corner I heard a muffled cry. I sped up. In ten seconds, I was at the door to the room Liz had tracked the signal to.

I kicked the door open to find a ring of computers in the center of the room, a zipline going from the window on the left of the room, and a few empty bottles of Dr. Pepper. But those things only registered because of my training. What caught my attention was the two girls lying on the floor. One black haired, one blonde.

I swallowed a scream as I moved towards them- right before a sharp pain hit me in the back of my neck and I crumbled on the floor, next to my friends.

Black spots danced in front of my eyes, partially blinding me. I was able to make out a pair of long legs step in front of me and hear an amused voice mutter, "Too easy."

Then the world went black.

* * *

**Mwahahaha! **

**Dont say I didn't warn you I like cliffys! **

**So... Please note that I may not update every week... I do have school, and other activities that take my writing time... But I have no intention of abandoning my story... Or making you guys wait forever!**

**Now, for my amazing, wonderful reviewers!**

**Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I got so many reviews! You guys have no idea how happy they make me! **

**Bookwormbullet: **Thank you for reviewing! I'm so glad you like this story! Now we're finally going to get some answers! Thank you, I took a few months planning it out before I started writing.

**Theonelives: **Don't worry! We shouldn't have a super long wait for a while. I like to keep a week distance between my chapters though, to give me time to write. They've been getting longer though.

**SoulofEssence: **I'm glad you like the last chapter. Indeed, I couldn't seem to fit any action into that one, but it is still important. Aww! I'm so happy you like the story! Now, we won't hear from Bianca for a a few chapters because of... Well... Stuff... But next chap is going to be split too. The first part will be different POVs then part two will be ONLY CAMMIE! Yay!

**Stronger-Than-Fear: **I'm glad it was better. Yes, you are a bit ahead (beta perks) and now you know even more. Yet I know I have yet to give you Cammie's POV... Thanks for betaing!

**XxCandyGirlxX: **I'm excited too! But we won't be able to hear from Bianca for a bit. Because... Umm... Of... Things... Hope you like the chapter!

**Lanoon: **Mwahaha! I think this chap answered your question? Hehe.. Don't worry! I will try my best not to be gone for so long! I normally like a week gap between my chapters though... It helps me write the next one... I'm so glad you like the story! **  
**

**Guest: **I'm glad you like it! I normally like a week between each chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to stick to that. Thank you for reviewing!

**Sunniva Steiner**: Eek! Do you know? We shall soon see if you do!

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: **I'mglad you like it! Hopefully you're not too mad about the cliffy! Haha!

**Matisse Gacioppo: **Well I know not to mess with you. Haha. Wow, do I sound like a kid in my AN? Lol.. Oh.. Yeah.. Lol... I see what you mean... Thanks, I didn't discover my love for writing until recently... I mean really recently... I'm glad I'm not terrible at it. Hope you like this chapter!

**Well, that's all for now! Thank you for all the reviews! Next is the big reveal chapter! It will also be split into two parts. It's over 6,000 words! The first part will be multiple POVs like normal, but the second will be ONLY CAMMIE! Woo hoo! Maybe that will help her absence. I'll do my best to make it worth the horrible suspense I've put you all through, and hopefully get it posted soon! **

**That's all for now- S**


	9. Going to Virginia

**... PLEASE PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME! **

**So this is it guys! The beginning of the end! Of the mystery that that is... Right, well it looks like chapter seven will have two, maybe three parts...**

** Oh and since you're most likely confused about the beginning of the AN... Cammie is not in part one... okay I'll let you rant at me...**

**...**

**you okay? Good, well I'm still okay so I hope that means you guys aren't too mad... Haha... Buuuuuttt... Part two is already 4,000 words long and still growing. Oh did I mention it's ONLY CAMMIE! yay! Maybe that will help my long delay... **

**So, I guess you know I don't own Gallagher Girls, so I think we can move on to the chapter!**

* * *

**.o Going to Virginia o.**

* * *

**Mystery POV**

"Well?" I asked as the two girls came through the window and began unhitching themselves from the zip line cable.

Viper shrugged her shoulders as she straightened the knives in her belt. "They're out. It was _so_ easy. Gallagher Girls always are."

I snorted, "You say that as if you've taken down a lot of them."

"If you can take the expert one, you can take all of them," she said, waving her hand.

Pixie rolled her clear, blue eyes. "Oh, please. _I_ distracted the first two for you."

"Yes, but your _singing _wasn't part of the plan!"

I watched as some emotion I couldn't name flashed in the dark haired girls eyes. A second later she regained her composure and said quietly, "It didn't change the outcome, did it?" Then she scurried away to the computers she had set up.

I turned towards the blonde. "Try to be a little sensitive!" I hissed.

She looked at me, her grey eyes so full of venom I remembered why we made her codename _Viper_ all those years ago. "You have some nerve to tell _me_ that." She hissed back. I mentally slapped myself as I realized what I'd just said. I knew better than to tell her something like that. Why did everything have to be so complicated now? We used to be in perfect sync, practically reading each other's minds. Now, we were struggling to work together on a common goal! This was all _their_ fault. We wouldn't be out of balance if Viper and Pixie hadn't been caught and locked up. They wouldn't have been caught if we hadn't been forced to run. The only reason we were found out and had to run was because _he_ left us when we needed him most. He left us for _her_, and I would never forget it.

"Sorry," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair.

She sighed, pushing her bluntly cut, dirty blonde bangs out of her face. "I know." She shook her head and let out an exasperated groan. "Let's just deal with these Gallagher Girls," she said.

I nodded in agreement. We walked over to where Pixie was and sat in the chairs next to her. "What's it look like?" I asked her.

At first I didn't get an answer. She just continued typing and quietly humming to herself. I noticed her eyes had some of their old distance again. It wasn't until I touched her arm than she acknowledged us at all. Her head shot up and she turned, wide eyed, towards me.

Viper snorted. I gave her a warning glare and turned back to Pixie. "You alright?" I asked her.

She nodded, then pointed to the screen. "You're clear. No one noticed, and no one's going to come for a few hours," she answered quietly.

I smiled, "Thanks. We'll be right back. While we're gone can you pack up?"

"Sure," she replied quietly.

I grabbed the supplies that were in a small heap on the floor, then turned to Viper. "Let's go. Once we're done here, we can focus on the Three Musketeers."

She grinned and stood up. "You mean after this we get to go home?" She asked.

"Home?" Pixie echoed.

"Yup. Let's go."

* * *

Viper and I made our way back to the building the _spies_ were in. Once we were inside, we made sure the doors were locked and the windows shut. Then we got to work on the girls in the center of the room. I tied the blonde one up while Viper worked on the British one. Bex, if I remembered correctly. And I _always_ remember correctly; I just didn't care. These girls were pawns. Just pieces in the grand game we were playing. And once we were done here, they would do exactly what we needed them to do.

I finished tying the little one up and dragged her to the right wall, setting her in a sitting position. Viper did the same with the other two girls, while I got to work on the left wall. I pulled out my giant, red Sharpie and began writing on the light blue wallpaper, careful not to leave any fingerprints.

As I was writing I heard the ring of a knife being unsheathed. I whipped around to see Viper holding a knife over the security guard's- Macey's- arm. "What are you doing!?" I hissed.

She looked up; I could see the anger churning in her stormy, grey eyes.

"Don't touch them."

"Why not?" She seethed. "They're part of this. You know what they did. They deserve to pay too. I thought you wanted that."

"Yes, I do, more than you know; but now's not the time! We need to stick to the plan or else this all fails!" I told her. "I had time to watch them. I know what they'll do. We need to do this right if we want to stay ahead of them."

Reluctantly, she sheathed her knife and continued to tighten their bonds, then she began cleaning the room- getting rid of anything that could be traced back to us. We needed to be smart and clean up after ourselves if this was going to work. I continued to write on the wall. When I was done, I stepped back and read over my handiwork. I heard Viper finish and walk up behind me.

"Sorry," I heard her mutter under her breath.

"It's fine. I know patience isn't your strong suit."

She snorted. "That's an understatement." I looked over at her. She was staring at the writing, reading the message. When she was done she nodded, and chuckled. "Nice," she said, "Now what?"

I held up the Sharpie, grinning. "Now, we sign it." I reached out and wrote a large _A_. Then I shrugged; Pixie wasn't here so I added the_ C _for her. I held out the marker, and Viper snatched it out of my hand. She leaned forward and wrote a large _E._

I smiled as I saw our infamous signature.

I turned around and walked out of the room. "Come on," I called behind me, "we have a plane to Virginia to catch."

* * *

**Zach POV**

I sighed as I saw the guy we had been tailing for the past four hours board the train to Virginia. It had taken a day to track him down; we had been tailing him all day, trying to find an opportunity to approach him.

"Jonas?" I said into my comms. He was somewhere near me, blending into the crowd like I was, though not as well. Jonas had always been the nerdy one, less coordinated on the field. It's a miracle he passed CoveOps, which, unlike at Gallagher, was mandatory for everyone at Blackthorne.

"I see him," I heard my friend's voice in my ear. I caught a glimpse of him pushing through the crowds towards the train. Though not the most covert way, he had the right idea. I made my way towards the train, weaving through the crowds a bit less noticeable than Jonas. When I made it to the train, I jumped on just before the doors shut.

"Jonas?"

"I'm in. I think he's in the food compartment."

"Of course I am," a familiar voice snorted.

I rolled my eyes. Of course he hacked our signal. It was something we- and _they -_learned growing up. We had special lessons when we were younger. I pushed back the memories that threatened to consume me to the back of my mind. I needed to focus on the task at hand.

"How'd you know we were here?" I heard Jonas ask as I made my way to the food compartment, trying to keep my balance as the train began moving.

"Please, Einstein, you're as covert as a giraffe in a zebra herd."

I rolled my eyes. I had forgotten he had just got back from- well, doing _something _in Africa.

"I figured since you were tailing me, Shadow must have been with you. I expect this is about the President's daughter?"

"Yes, and no. We need to talk, Cobra. Meet us-"

"Wait. Cobra? I told you I want my codename to be Greek God!"

I groaned. We didn't have time for this nonsense. "Stop it! This is important; we don't have time for childishness. Your name is Cobra, has been forever. We have to talk. It's serious." I had made my way to the compartment and could see the back of his head. He was sitting in the far corner of the room, mostly hidden in the shadows. He had a laptop open and a notebook on the table. He could have passed for a college jock. I saw, well more like felt, Jonas come up behind me. We made our way to the table.

"Aw, come on. What's so bad? Rogue assassin? Random terrorism? We can take 'em. I'd like to see them try to get away from me," the guy said, unaware we were behind him.

"Grant. Stop," Jonas said as he and I slid into the booth, sitting across from our friend.

Upon seeing our expressions, Grant finally sobered up. "What?" he asked, finally taking things seriously.

While we had tracked him down to answer that question, neither Jonas nor I wanted to be the one to say it. I sighed, and Jonas looked down and started polishing his glasses. When neither of us gave an immediate answer, Grant nearly growled. "Guys, spit it out. What is going on?"

Jonas sped up his polishing and placed his glasses back on his nose, still avoiding looking at Grant. "Well, we were in London recently, and we- um, we came to find out something important-"

"So this _is_ about the President's daughter?" Grant asked, impatiently cutting off Jonas's mumbling.

"Yes and no. It's about who's attacking her," I said. "Grant, they're alive. Somehow, she survived, and now she's found them."

It was quiet for a minute before Grant shook his head and snapped, "How are you sure? We looked everywhere!" I sighed. I knew this was going to be hard for him to accept.

Jonas was the one to speak up. "The latest attack scene was signed, Grant. _ACE_ has returned."

I watched his reaction. Waiting for the explosion. But instead, we were met with silence. Grant simply blinked and leaned back in his seat. He glanced around, and when he looked back at us, his dark eyes were torn between pain, longing, and a silent rage. After two minutes and twenty three seconds, he finally said something, his voice low and dangerous.

"If they're alive, why the President's daughter?"

"Publicity," Jonas said as if that answered his question completely- which Grant made sure his face told otherwise.

Jonas sighed. "The President's daughter would be the best way to gain attention. Though, I think we all know that she is not their real target."

Grant nodded. "They just wanted us to notice. They did always love grand entrances."

I nodded. "It might not be just us they wanted to notice," I said. "If I know _her _at all, we aren't their main targets either."

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave without telling Macey? Or at least Joe?" Jonas asked.

I shook my head. "They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves. Besides, our biggest concern is in Virginia."

Grant shook his head. "You mean _your_ biggest concern is in Virginia," he muttered. "You're still putting her before them. After everything- I can't believe you!"

"I just need to make sure she's alright," I sighed. Maybe it wasn't the best move, but I had to see her. Make sure she was okay.

"Fine, we'll go to Virginia- wait, we're on our way to Virginia,-anyway, we'll make sure Cammie's fine, then we _need_ to find them, Zach," Jonas said urgently.

I sighed again. I knew I was probably letting my feelings rule my actions too much. Heck- who am I kidding? My feeling were totally mixed up. I just needed to make sure Cammie was safe. I guess that's what got me in trouble in the first place. But, I couldn't bring myself to tell Joe or anyone else and lose everyone's trust yet though. I needed to try to fix this myself first.

"I know. We will."

* * *

**Macey POV**

My head ached. My arms felt like they were made of rubber, and my legs like they were filled with liquid. Whatever that girl drugged me wi-

My eyes shot open as I remembered what happened. Liz and I had reached the room first. when we got close, we heard the same clear voice from our comms singing._ "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the -"_

I had cut the singing off as I shoved open the door. There had been a small, black haired girl in the room. As soon as I had tried to grab her, she was behind me. She had twirled and grabbed my hair and arm from behind. She had moved so fast. It was like she knew what I was going to do. The next thing I knew there was a rag on my face and someone had kicked my legs from under me. I remembered hearing Liz fall right next to me before I couldn't hold my breath any longer and blacked out.

Now I looked around. We were still in the room. It was dark. From the window, I could tell it was late at night. At first I wondered why no one had looked for us, but then I remembered that we had told Joe and Townsend not to worry about us. That we probably would be leaving soon. Looked like we were on our own.

I looked around the room. The computers were gone. It actually seemed this was an abandoned apartment building. There was a small kitchen like area to the left, but no furniture. A old light bulb hung from the ceiling. The only light was coming from moon and streetlights coming through the open window.

My head felt groggy from the drug and my limbs were heavy, but overall I was fine. Bex and Liz were on either side of me. We were all tied up; other than that, we seemed to be fine. Liz had a bump on her head, and there was dried blood in Bex's hair. But they didn't seem any more injured than me.

I wiggled around, feeling how tight the bonds were around my hands. In a matter of seconds my hands were free and I started working on my feet. They weren't difficult to undo. Either the girl was an amateur, or we were meant to escape.

Bex started to wake up as I finished untying Liz, her brown hair falling over her face as her head rolled. Her eyes shot open, and she looked around. Silently, she started untying herself.

"There was a black haired girl in here. Did she knock you out too?" I asked her.

Bex shook her head. "A bloody blonde got me," she muttered as she untied her feet. By the time she finished, I had Liz free and was trying to wake her up by gently shaking her. Bex decided to take matters into her own hands and clapped her hands on Liz's tiny arms and whispered something frantically in her ear.

"_Liz! You're late for Professor Buckingham's final!"_

I nearly laughed as I watched Liz jump up, only to be stopped by Bex's arms around her. Even unconscious, Liz wouldn't ever miss a test, even if we left school almost a year ago.

"Wha-" she started, but stopped once she realized where we were.

As we all looked around again, I noticed that the door to the room was wide open. Once we woke up were we meant to leave? Why would we be attacked if the girl was not going to keep us? Was there a guard? Was she just escaping? I looked at my friends to see them with questioning looks also. It wasn't until Liz pointed at something anyone spoke.

"Guys, look!" She was pointing at the wall across from where we were positioned. There was a message written in bold, red letters across the baby blue wall. How did we not see that sooner? We should have. I guess being knocked out takes a toll, no matter how well trained you are.

We stepped forward to read the writing. I heard Liz gasp as she read it. Bex was glaring daggers at the signature, muttering, "Over my dead body."

I turned to read it.

_By the time you wake up, we'll be long gone. Sorry about knocking you out- wait, no I'm not. Anyway, you guys are right, we're not after little Bianca. Though, if it helps, we're not above using her. We actually have a certain Gallagher Girl to deal with right now. Good luck trying to stop us. It was fun playing with you. Bye, now we have a plain to Virginia to catch. _

_-ACE_

My mind took a minute to digest everything those eight, short sentences meant. One- ACE was more than one person, at least two girls. Two- they attacked us to escape. Why they hacked our comms again, I didn't know. Three- we were right to guess they weren't after Bianca. Though, from the message, she did still needed to be protected. Four- we were not this ACE's targets either. And the scariest one of all, five- it seemed our best friend was.

* * *

**DUN DUN DAAAAA!**

**So like I said, next part is only Cammie, so we will be even closer to finding out who the mystery girls are!**

**Now for my wonderful reviewers!**

Sunniva Steiner : your review made my day! But I hope you don't panic! I'm touched you think I'm that good of a writer though! Don't worry I'm planning to on Saturdays... We'll see how long I'm able to keep that up. I'm so glad you like my story!

XxCandyGirlxX : I worked pretty hard to get it cryptic but not super confusing. So I was really happy to see your review! So glad you like it!

SoulofEssence : I hope you haven't burst yet... So that's what happened to the girls... And yes, Zach does know, and soon shall we! Now we get to move on to Cammie! Yay!

BookwormBullet : I did an evil laugh after posting that last cliffy... Haha.. Glad you like it!

StrongerThanFear : Haha... Yeah, well you did see this first so you didn't have to wait as long... But I still need to send you the next part... Lol

Unknown: nice reviewer name... part two is only Cammie! Yay! Thank nk you for reviewing!

Matisse Gacioppo : Cammie, to answer your question, is busy telling me her side of the story for part two! Part two will be only Cammie's POV... Well, I know you weren't in these last two chapters too much. But to tell you a secret, further on in the story you get your own POV... you actually are a main character... Not right now, but soon!

Okay... Thank you all for reviewing, following, and favoriting! It means the world just to have readers! (Doesn't mean I don't love a review)

next chapter should be up next saturday!

Please review! -S


	10. What's Going On?

**... So... hehe... Hi... **

**I'm not giving any excuse except I wanted these next three chapters to be perfect... And combined they are over 9,000 words... That's right, I have the next two chapters written.. You see why I was delayed? **

**Now... CAMMIE! YAY! All together, Cammie's POV is over 7,000 words... Are you as excited as I am? You should know by now I don't own Gallagher Girls, so I'll let you read!**

* * *

**.o What's Going On? o.**

* * *

**Cammie POV**

"Ugh. Professor Cass's exam is today," Lyla groaned as we walked across the campus to our math class together. So far everything had been going smoothly in my life- for once. Lyla was an easy person to be around. After we saw that movie together, after Abby had left, I realized I had missed having a friend around. Lyla was a sweet girl. She was curious about my mysterious way of going unnoticed and seemingly disappearing, but so far I hadn't needed to lie to her. That was the only thing I was worried about. I didn't want to hurt her; I had made sure she knew that I was not going to be able to be a life long friend early on. I couldn't do that to her; she would never understand why I disappeared, never hear the stories of my past, know where my scars came from. She had seemed a little disappointed, but said she was happy to be my friend as long as possible.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," I told her, pushing my bag further up my shoulder as I walked.

"I don't know. I take too long; I still have no idea how you do your work so fast! You're the top student in her class!" she said. It was true. I was the top student in all my classes, but I couldn't exactly tell her I technically could have a Ph.D. in almost everything, now could I?

"I guess I'm just a giant nerd," I shrugged, chuckling.

Lyla rolled her eyes. She stayed silent for a minute. I looked at her warily; Lyla being quiet normally something bad for me. When I looked at her, she had this mischievous glint in her eyes. I sighed. I knew what was coming; I had figured it was only a matter of time until she started. I sighed, honestly nervous about this one.

"So," she began, dragging out the word, "You're the girl that mysterious boy comes to see?" she asked, practically hopping with giddiness. Lyla was one of those romance loving people. And to her, there was nothing more romantic than a boy coming to see a girl while she was away at college.

Zach had, in fact, come to see me two days ago. It had been the first time I'd seen him since the first attack on Bianca. I had noticed him while walking from campus, back to the apartments with Lyla- which is why she now knew about him. I had planned to find him after I lost Lyla, but when our eyes met, I could instantly tell something was wrong. I had heard that their had been a second attack in London, and had planned to fly over there today, even if it meant breaking my promise to Aunt Abby. But, if Zach had been here, then there must have been something wrong.

So I had mulled it over, and decided it wouldn't hurt if Lyla knew that I knew Zach. I had told her briefly that Zach was my boyfriend and pointed him out when she didn't notice him in the crowd across the street. She had instantly urged me to go and told me to tell her all about it later.

I had begun to follow Zach, who had started weaving through the crowd as soon as he saw me coming. I followed him to a small park, and sat next to him on a picnic table. I had wanted to hug him, kiss him after not seeing him for so long, but I knew it wasn't the time for it.

"Zach, what's wrong?" I had asked immediately.

"Nothing, Gallagh-"

"Zach!" I cut him off, not wanting to hear it. There was something wrong, that was obvious.

Zach had sighed and shook his head.

"This is about the attack in London, isn't it?"

Finally, Zach nodded. "Bianca's fine. Macey and Bex have gotten the President and your mom to let her go to Gallagher, to keep her safe."

"She's going to Gallagher?" I asked, stunned. The only person I'd ever known to get in after age twelve was, in fact, Macey. Of course, that's not including Zach's strange circumstances.

"Yes, and Tina's accompanying her."

I had nodded slowly. "What are Macey and Bex doing?"

"When I left, they were still planning Bianca's departure," he said. "After that they were going to start their own investigation."

I nodded again, "What are you doing? Do you have any leads?"

Zach shook his head, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Was he lying? Why would he lie to me? If he wasn't lying, why was he here? I shook off the questions. If I needed to know something, he would tell me.

"Alright," I had said. "I'm helping Macey."

Zach's head had shot up. "No."

"What?"

"No, Gallagher Girl. Stay here," he had demanded sternly, albeit not rudely. Why couldn't I leave? Why had it mattered so much to him? I was rapidly starting to suspect I wasn't being told everything.

"No, Zach. I can't just _stay here_. I need to do something, to help some way!"

Zach had sighed and looked over my shoulder. I turned to see Grant standing on the other side of the park, arms crossed. He seemed to be upset about something. I had turned back to Zach.

"Zach what's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Gallagher Girl, please-"

"Don't '_Gallagher Girl' _me, Zach. Tell me," I had said quietly.

Zach had stared at me for a long time. He had seemed to be debating something in his head. Finally he reached out and cupped my face in his hand. "Cammie, please," he whispered, bringing his forehead to mine. "Please, just promise me you'll stay here."

"But why?" I asked.

"I swear I'll explain soon. I'll tell you everything, just please promise me," he pleaded, his face inches from mine.

"Okay," I finally had said.

He gave me a sad smile and gently, briefly kissed me. When he pulled back, he had stood and started making his way across the park to Grant. I had sighed as I watched him leave. I had avoided Lyla the rest of that day and the next. Being a the Chameleon, it wasn't too difficult. I tried to understand what Zach meant. Why he wasn't telling me everything. And, most of all, why he wanted me to stay put so badly.

That had been two days ago, and now Lyla had had enough waiting. It was good for me, considering I hadn't been able to think clearly enough these past few days to decide on what to tell her. But it was bad for her, since she wanted, what she assumed were 'romantic details'. I sighed and chuckled as I looked at my over-enthusiastic friend.

"Yes, well, there's not much to tell," I told her. "He just came to see me, since we hadn't seen each other in a while."

"Does he live around here?" She asked.

"Um, he travels a lot actually."

"Oh," she said. She stopped talking for a second, then bounced back into her questions. "So, where did you guys meet?"

Luckily, I was saved from answering that question and any further interrogation by us arriving at our math class. I took my seat near the center and Lyla sat behind me in the row to the left.

"Good morning everyone," Professor Cass said, as she brought out the exam papers. They were handed out and we began our exam. About twenty minutes into it is when everything changed.

First, the fire alarm went off. Everyone jumped up and began 'calmly' panicking. They started grabbing papers and jamming them into their bags as quickly as possible. I looked around. There was no sign of fire at all. Well, besides the alarm. There was no trace of smoke in the air, no one else was running in the halls, and it seemed only this room's alarm had gone off. That wasn't normal. The alarms were connected; if one went off, they all went off. To anyone else it would seem like a simple malfunction. To me, it was a set up.

My suspicion was confirmed when the power went out a moment later. At the time the windows had been closed and the curtains shut, so it became nearly completely dark. I finally stood as I heard Mrs. Cass begin telling everyone it must have been a simple malfunction of the system. I knew better, this was someone playing with the systems, and I needed to know why. Mrs. Cass let everyone leave the classroom, and I made my way straight towards the control room.

Turns out, the entire wing of this building lost power. The hallways were completely dark. That didn't stop me though. It wasn't until I heard footsteps behind me that I slowed my pace. I turned and heard a familiar voice call out, "Cammie?"

"Over here, Lyla."

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere, I just don't like being in a room that chaotic. You should go back," I told her. Luckily, I heard her faint, "Okay," and her footsteps going away.

I sighed and continued my way to the control room. I turned the corner and was met with a blow to the side, knocking me against the wall. The hallway was still completely dark, so I had no idea who just hit me. Someone grabbed my arm and put their hand over my mouth, as they tried to drag me somewhere. I stepped back, bit the hand at my mouth, and turned, twisting the arm holding me as I spun and kicked my attacker in the side.

I heard them hit the opposite wall and groan. "Jeez, Cam, take it easy," I heard a familiar voice gasp.

"Macey?!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

Somewhere behind me, I heard another voice chuckle, "Told you not to surprise her."

"Bex? What's going on?" I demanded. First Zach, now this? What was going on?

"Sh! Someone's coming," I heard Liz's small voice cry.

In the darkness, I heard the muffled shuffling of my best friends clearing out of sight- as if anyone could see in this dark.

"Who's over there?" I heard Mrs. Cass call.

There were a few more footsteps, then I heard Lyla call, "Cammie went that way."

"I'm here," I said. "I was trying to get outside. I'm a bit claustrophobic."

"Oh, that's fine, dear. It's this way though," she said, grabbing my hand and leading to the doors. She led me outside, where everyone had gathered. I searched the area for my friends. I caught a glimpse of Liz scurrying across the grounds towards the park Zach had led me to yesterday. It was only a matter of ensuring about five different people I was fine, then I was able to disappear. I made my way to the park and found my friends. Liz was on a swing, Macey was pushing her, and Bex was doing pull ups on the monkey bars. I chuckled as I watched Macey call out something, and Bex respond by sticking out her tongue and only using one hand to pull herself up a few times before jumping down, doing a flip midair.

Bex saw me coming as she straightened; her smile widened, then faded. "Hey," she called.

"Hey?" I asked. "What_ was_ that? Why go through all that? Why are you guys here? What didn't Zach tell me? What's going on?"

"Zack was here? When? What did he say?" Macey demanded. Wait. Did they not know what Zach was doing? Why would they be here then? Zach said they were investigating the terrorist after Bianca. What was going on?

"He was here yesterday. Why? Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?"

"Cam, Zach disappeared five days ago," Macey started to say, but Bex cut her off.

"Not here," she said.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we were in my apartment, and my friends had told me everything I had missed. This was insane, yet it made some kind of twisted sense. It really hadn't made any sense why anyone would attack Bianca. If it had been the President, that was a different story. The only thing that was still a big question was who this ACE was, and what exactly did they want?

I mean, sure I've made plenty of enemies. Especially being a prime reason the Circle of Cavan had fallen. But I had no connection I could think of to the two girls that were broken out and seem to be two-thirds of the mysterious ACE.

I wasn't really super concerned about being targeted. Though, my friends seemed to be. But, once you're chased for two years by the most dangerous terrorist in the world, who happened to murder your father and want to start World War Three, been captured, released, brainwashed, and finally left alone to stop them from destroying the world- this ACE didn't exactly terrify me. I wondered whether that was why Zach made me promise to stay here. To keep me from going after them. The other big question was, what _exactly _did Zach know?

After they informed me of everything, I told my friends about Zach's visit.

"He wanted you to stay here? Why?"

"Grant was with him?"

"Did he say anything about the attackers?"

I sighed as I answered my friends questions. It took me telling the story twice, verbatim, for them to accept that's all Zach had told me. I could feel their frustration. I was upset by the lack of information we had too. After all, the one person who could help us seemed to avoiding us.

Zach had been the one Richard Steven Runner was ordered to talk to. Zach was told he would know who did this. From what the girls told me, it was Zach who got two mystery notes. And now, it was Zach who disappeared after telling me to stay here. Did he know I was targeted? Or did he just not want me to get into this? I felt like I didn't know anything. But I knew one thing for sure.

"We're finding Zach."

I waited for my friends to protest. To say I should stay here. That they should worry more about this attacker. But nothing came. I figured they had come to the same conclusion as me- Zach knew who was doing this, so we first we find Zach, then come answers.

"When do we leave?" Bex asked.

"Now."

* * *

In five minutes, I was ready.

I had always kept an emergency bag in my room. After my experiences, I was always ready to run at a moment's notice. I think every spy comes to that point eventually. We all learn that we can't trust anything to go well. That their are always people who want us gone. We can't ever get too comfortable in one place.

"What's that?" Liz asked, as I taped a piece of paper on my door.

"A note for Lyla," I answered. I needed to make sure she didn't send a search party after me. Not that they would ever find me if she did. I guess it was more for her to know I was fine and not abducted by some lunatic. It simply stated that I had to leave because of a family emergency, and I didn't know when I would be back.

"Alright," Bex said, once we were outside. "The car we were using is over there," she pointed to the parking lot, "Do you know where we're going first?"

All my friends looked to me. "What?" I asked.

"Well, Cam," Liz started, "you're the pavement artist. You're our tracking expert."

"Plus," Macey smirked, "you're the best one to find Zach, considering...things." My friends all snickered at my face that I'm sure was red.

"Where do we start?" Bex asked.

I rolled my eyes. "You guys act as if I'm the only one that took CoveOps."

"Eh, sure, "Bex shrugged, "But Liz's right. You're the expert."

"Fine," I sighed. "When tracking a subject, an operative always begins with the last known location subject was present," I quoted Mr. Solomon. No matter what I went through, I would always hear his voice, his lessons, when I needed them. They would be with me forever.

"So, that means we're going to London- again?" Liz said.

I nodded. "Do we need anything before we leave?" I asked.

"Snacks!"

We all looked to Macey and Liz, who had answered at the same time. Macey shrugged, "I'm not traveling with a hungry Bex."

Bex snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I forgot the gummy bears," Liz said.

We all laughed. It was nice to be on a mission with my friends again.

* * *

When we landed in London, the first thing we did was track down the last person we knew Zach talked to. Joe. He was still at Baring Cross Station helping Townsend clean up the mess the attack had caused. He wasn't alone.

"Squirt! What are you doing here?"

"Aunt Abby?" I cried when I saw her with my stepfather and Townsend. Abby came and gave me a hug. Then she looked from me to each of my friend's faces.

"Hello, girls."

"Hey, Abby," my friends chorused.

"So what brings you guys to London?" Abby asked.

"I was going to ask you the same," I told her.

Abby shrugged. "Since Bianca is at Gallagher, your mom wanted me to look into the attacks a bit further. We want to know what we're up against."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Macey and Bex exchange a look. I guess they hadn't told anyone about the message before they left. I thought about it for a moment and decided I didn't want anyone worrying about me- again. It was better that I track down Zach, then take care of this ACE myself.

Suddenly, Abby snapped her fingers and turned towards me. "What about you?" she demanded. "I believe I told you to stay at Georgetown."

"Yeah, about that..."

"Cam," Abby groaned. We heard two soft chuckles behind us and turned to find both Joe and Townsend, who had been silent until then, holding back laughter.

"What, may I ask, is amusing right now?" Abby snapped, though I could tell she wasn't angry.

Townsend shook his head. "She's so much like you."

Abby raised her eyebrows.

Joe pointed at her, "Remember Fiji?" he said. I stepped away from Abby and gave my stepfather a hug.

Abby rolled her eyes. I hated when they did that. I couldn't ask what they meant, and even if I could, would I truly want to know the answer? They were constantly in danger. But, then again, so was I.

Abby huffed. Joe turned to me and my friends, raising an eyebrow, "Now, what exactly _are_ you four doing here? I believe you three said you were going to look into the attacker."

Bex stepped forward. "We are. We just have reason to believe someone knows who they are. We're currently tracking him."

"Zach?" Townsend asked. He looked worried. Beside him, Joe stiffened.

We all nodded. "Do you know where he went?" Macey asked.

Townsend shook his head. "I was hoping he was with you."

I turned to Joe, "Do you have any idea where he is?"

Joe closed his eyes, then finally looked at me. He sighed, "I don't know where he is, but I have a theory."

"Where?" Bex demanded.

Joe looked like he was debating what to tell us.

"Joe," I whispered, "Please, I need to find him. This- whoever this is- they've targeted me."

The shift of tension in the room was visible. My friends's eyes widened. Abby looked ready to kill. Townsend's face went completely blank. But the most curious shift was Joe's. He didn't look surprised or blank. He looked frustrated.

Joe took a heavy breath. When he looked back to me, I couldn't tell what he was feeling; his eyes seemed torn between worry, frustration, and- sadness?

My stepfather sighed and said something that totally caught me off guard, "When you find him, don't be angry."

"Why would I-"

"Cam, just, know that he wanted to tell you, but it was hard for him."

"Joe, I don't-"

"You'll understand soon. Last I know, Zach was heading to find Grant."

I shook my head, "He found him. They visited me a few days ago."

"What did he say?" Abby asked.

I smiled sheepishly, "To stay at Georgetown"

Abby glared, but was cut off before she could chastise me.

"He told you to stay put?" Joe asked.

I nodded.

"Then it's good you're not."

"Huh?"

Joe shook his head. "He's worried about you. His judgment is thrown off. That's always been his problem."

I nodded as I took that in. While it was sweet he worried, I didn't need him risking himself or me. I needed to talk to him.

There was a groan behind me. "Would every of please stop being so bloody vague!" Bex said, exasperated. "Where is Zach?"

Joe shook his head. "I don't know where he is exactly, but I would bet anything he's somewhere in Virginia."

"Virginia?" Macey asked, unimpressed. "Really? We came to London just to hear he's in Virginia."

Joe nodded.

"Well then," Liz sighed, "what's the plan, Cam?"

I turned to the three adults. "We're finding Zach. Don't worry about us, but keep Bianca under close watch. She may still be at risk."

There were brief goodbyes, then my friends and I made our way the the plane. I went through everything that had happened. Everything that had been said. The way Zach had been acting the past few weeks. As we flew across the Atlantic, I couldn't fight the feeling we were about to find not only Zach, but a secret that would change everything.

* * *

**Soooooo... What you think? Next is the REVEAL! YAY! I wanted it to be one chapter, but it would have been over 6,000 words... So this is the beginning.. Next one is more exciting! **

**Now, for my wonderful reviewers! **

**Bookwormbullet: I'm so glad you like it! Hopefully I'll get a little more consistent with the updates. **

**SoulofEssence: oh, how I wish I could tell you... But alas, you must wait along with everyone else.. but I absolutely love hearing your theories, and many are close... Thank you for reviewing!**

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: thank you! It's nice to know I'm not awful... I started writing just this year... I'm glad you like it.. **

**Greeneyedsmirker: (I love your name) here is part two! Now we just need part three! Haha! Thank you for reviewing! **

**Sunniva Steiner: awww.. Thank you! I've been reading fanfic for two years, and always wondered what it was like to be the writer... You guys are amazing, thanks for reviewing! And your questions are going to get answered soon... Just a few more chapters! **

**Stronger-Than-Fear: thanks... lol.. Your responses are always the shortest because you're the beta.. Lol... **

**Matisse Gacioppo: ... You know, I really love your reviews. I've decided if we met we would practically be twins. I reasoned to your review more in the PM I sent you... So I'm not going to rewrite it here... Hope you liked this chapter... Next one is more exciting... **

**Leila54352: SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGED THE GREEK GOD JOKE! Haha! you have no idea how much I wanted someone to say something about it! It was actually a joke between me and my beta (Stronger-than-fear)... Also, we shall have to wait to see what Cammie will do... **

**Guest: (no name to remember you by?) I'm glad it's exciting and not boring! Thank you for the review! **

* * *

**So, there we go...Part three will actually be up next Saturday! Promise! **

**PLEASE REVIEW! -S**


	11. Revelations

**Aha! See! I can update when I say! Granted this chapter was finished last week, but still! **

**GUYS! THIS IS IT! I AM SO EXCITED! I don't own Gallagher girls, NOW READ! Eek! **

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**.o Revelations o.**

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**Cammie POV**

It took us exactly two days to find Zach.

Once we found him, we decided it would be better to tail him, than approach him- considering how much help he'd been when he was with us. We then set up a basic observation rotation.

That had been three days ago. So far, he, Grant, and Jonas have looked on edge. They seemed to be waiting for something, or looking for something. After bugging multiple rooms and things of theirs, we had gathered that they were were waiting for a second message from ACE, or really who they called _Her. _They, apparently, had gotten a message a day before we found them and were waiting to receive a meeting place.

Who they were meeting, was still a mystery. It was so frustrating. They wouldn't even say any names. It was always 'her', or 'she', or 'they'. From listening to them talk about this 'them' and 'her', it seemed they had known these girls for a long time. I tried to recall Zach telling me about any girl- anyone- from his past. But as I thought about it, I realized I knew almost nothing about my boyfriend's life before he came to Gallagher.

It was an unsettling realization.

"Chameleon, rotate."

I was knocked out of my mental ranting by Bex's voice. I had been tailing Zach as he walked through town for the past fifteen minutes. Bex was my backup, and Macey was the reserve, while Liz ran our comms and watched every security monitor in the city. I sighed and strolled across the street, away from Zach. In the window of the ice cream parlor in front of me, I watched as Bex turned the corner and took my place as Zach's tail. Now Macey was the backup, and I was the reserve.

I shook my head as I remembered my first CoveOps assignment. Tail Mr. Smith and find out what he likes with funnel cakes. All those years ago, it seemed like the most nerve-wracking thing ever. I could still hear Mr. Solomon's voice.

_"There are three types of subjects that will always be the most difficult to surveil. People who are trained, people who suspect they may be followed, and people you know."_

Understatement.

Well, I guess not an understatement so much as completely and utterly true.

It had been so hard to tail the guys. Finding them was no problem, but tailing them without detection? Hardest. Assignment. Ever. Harder than Paris- oh wait, you can't know about that. But, yeah, it was hard. Not only did the guys know us. They knew how we worked, how we rotated, what our giveaways were. I think one of the reasons we've lasted this long is because they were so distracted. They were looking for something or someone, yet they never noticed us. Or they did, and they ignored us.

Apparently, I had allowed myself to become so lost in thought, I nearly ran into a poor old granny. The poor woman was exiting the post office when I turned a corner and nearly ran into her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said.

She merely shook her head. "It's fine, dear."

I was about to respond when I heard Macey call out, "Duchess, where are you? I've lost eyeball."

I whipped around to see Macey walking passed a jewelry shop. Scanning the area, I found Bex on the path leading towards the zoo, Grant and Zach twenty paces ahead of her.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" I heard the woman behind me ask.

I turned back to her, a smile slapped on my face. "Oh, yes, everything's fine. I'm just trying to find my way _to the zoo." _Sure enough, I watched in the post office window as Macey nodded and crossed the street towards the zoo. I said thank you to the woman when she gave me directions and disappeared into the crowd once again.

* * *

As I made my way to the zoo, I couldn't help but notice the complete lack of visitors in the parking lot. Strange, on a Saturday. I realized why a few moments later. Apparently, some vipers and black widows in the zoo had mysteriously escaped yesterday, and animal control were busy making sure none of them were missing. The zoo wouldn't be open until they were sure nothing dangerous was lurking about.

I watched as Zach and Grant made their way towards the entrance. A guard simply let them in when they approached.

"Guard?" I asked into my comms.

I watched as Bex casually walked passed the entrance towards the other side of the lot. "It's Jonas," she muttered.

A moment later, the guard turned and followed Zach and Grant into the zoo, closing the gate behind him.

"Peacock, can you get over the gate?" I asked.

There was no response, but a minute later the fifteen foot gate slid open. I met my friends inside the small gift shop near the zoo entrance.

When we were together, I called Liz through the comms. "Bookworm, what we got?"

"All of the camera's have already been looped. Give me one more- okay, I got the real footage now. They're making their way to the reptile house," Liz's small voice chirped.

"Thanks, Bookworm."

We made out way towards the reptile house, but when we got there, instead of walking in, we scaled the wall and came up on the slanted roof. The roof was perfect for our objective. It slanted up on the sides, but not enough for us to slide off. In the middle, the two sides met a glass pane that, from the inside, would make a beautiful skylight through the entire building. But for us, it was an excellent observation point to the whole house.

We soon found the guys entering the area for the unique (and most likely lethal) insects and spiders. It seemed the the security was a bit lax. I could understand why, considering no one would ever _want_ to enter a place with deadly creatures creeping about. The guys were able the walk right up to the black widow display, where three large, deadly, jet black arachnids were weaving their webs.

The guys seemed to be discussing something.

"Bookworm, can you get us audio on their comms?"

Liz didn't reply, but twenty seconds later the boys voices were in my ear.

"-told you they would be behind this," Grant was telling Jonas.

I watched as Jonas raised his hands in defense, "I never said they weren't."

"Yeah, you-"

"Guys!" Zach snapped. He pointed to the bottom of the display, where a small piece of paper was placed.

Grant shook his head. "No way am I sticking my hand in there," he muttered.

Zach chuckled. "Wimp," he said, earning a punch in the side.

Jonas rolled his eyes. "No one has to stick their hand in there. It's reflected, see?" Jonas motioned towards the mirrored back of the display case. Beside me, Macey took a hair pin (which also happened to be a camera) out of her hair and put it against the glass roof. She zoomed in an snapped the picture, while the guys did the same inside.

"Should we take it out?" Jonas asked.

Zach shook his head. "She got it in there, she can get it out."

Grant snorted, "Plus she's freaky with spiders." Zach smacked him in the side.

The boys didn't say anything else as they exited the reptile house, then the zoo. We followed them all the way to the hotel, waited a few minutes for them to get to their room, then made out way to the floor above them. When we opened the door to our room, we were met with about, oh, a hundred questions.

"Did you guys get it? What was in the zoo? Did you see anyone? Was there-"

"Liz!" Macey snapped. "Calm down and take a look," she said, holding out the pin/camera. Liz immediately snatched it out of Macey's hand and had it plugged into a computer. When the picture finished downloading, we were met with another note from ACE, only this time it was meant for the guys.

_So it seems you're finally looking. Took you long enough, didn't it? Now, I'm sure you want to know what we're planning, so why don't we meet at our old hangout? I'll see you in the nightshade at the normal time. If you can still get in, that is._

_-ACE_

"Night shade?" Bex said. "Liz?"

"Got it!" Liz called from another laptop. On the screen was 'NightShade -Dance Cllub, Bar, and Entertainment'.

I sighed as Macey chuckled. "Looks like we're going dancing," she said.

* * *

"You hate me don't you?"

Macey merely laughed at my obvious discomfort.

"Come on, Cam, you look great!" Bex called from the bathroom. I was in a dark blue dress that stopped right above the knees, had thin straps over the shoulders, and a back lower than I thought possible.

"Why can't I wear the purple one?" I whined, pointing to the much more modest dress that was on the bed.

"Because it matches Liz's dress too much!" Macey snapped. I looked pleadingly to our small friend, who was braiding her hair.

Liz looked from me, to Macey, to the dress on the bed, then finally down at her pale green dress that stopped at the shins and had straps crossing over her back. "It doesn't match _that _much," she said.

It really didn't. The only thing that was exactly the same was the back, which had straps crossing to the shoulder blades. The purple dress stopped a little above the knees, and the front was a lot higher than the blue thing I was wearing. Also, while Liz's dress had a empire waist that hugged her tiny torso, and flowed out around her legs whenever she moved. The purple dress had a natural waist that had hints of black and cascaded down in waves around my knees.

I turned back to Macey. "Ha!"

Macey rolled her eyes. "Fine," she muttered, then grinned evilly. "But now we have to redo your makeup!"

"Ugh!"

* * *

Two hours, three dress changes, and some intense hair situations later, we were ready.

Macey had decided to wear the dark blue dress; Bex was in a black dress that hugged her body and showed off her muscles in a way that made her look like a supermodel.

We watched and waited until the guys left the hotel. Seven minutes later, we made our way after them. Of course, we didn't make it obvious we were following them. We had already put trackers in their shoes, clothes, and I had to convince Bex that lacing their toothpaste was going to far. So we made wide circles around them, going into a few places and watching their movements from Liz's tracking watch.

At 9:57 pm, the girls and I found ourselves in the line to enter NightShade. Zach and the guys had just walked in. We had watched as Zach handed the bouncer a piece of paper, but what it was, we had no idea.

As we approached the bouncer, Macey took the lead and somehow got us in free. I don't think I want to know how. We were about to enter when something made me stop dead. From somewhere behind us, I heard a small voice.

_"The horsemen lived in service to the castle and the crown-"_

My head whipped around before my mind could fully register what was happening. Scanning the crowed frantically, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see the bouncer gesturing to where my friends had entered the building. "Miss?"

I looked behind me, searching for the source of the voice, but saw no one in the crowd behind me that seemed to be singing the song that still haunted my nightmares.

"Cam?" I heard Bex call. Stiffly, I walked over to my friends "What's wrong?" Bex whispered. I just shook my head. I couldn't bring myself to tell them I was hearing one of the few things that scared me. But it wasn't just the song, it was the _voice_.

Whenever I heard the song, in my head, in my nightmares, only the first few times it was Catherine's voice. Then the voice changed. After a few times, the voice that would sing was the clear voice of a girl. The same voice that I heard now.

Suddenly, I felt a white-hot pain behind my eyes.

_A steel chair. Green eyes. A spider. Knives and syringes._

Images I couldn't make sense of flashed through my mind. I hadn't realized I was shaking until Liz nudged me.

"Cammie, are you okay? You seem pale."

I looked at my friends. They were watching me worryingly. I forced a smile and shook my head. "I'm fine," I lied. "It must be the lights. Come on, lets find them."

As we made our way inside NightShade, I couldn't help being impressed. I was expecting a grimy, skimpy place, but NightShade was actually very stylish. On the left side of the building,there were seats, pool tables, and a bar. To the right was a large dance floor with neon and black lights. At the end of the dance floor, against the far wall was a stage where, the sign outside said, there was live music on Fridays and Sundays, but today, Saturday, was karaoke night. Wonderful.

It didn't take long to find the guys. They weren't really hiding. When we found them, Grant was laughing loudly at something while Jonas polished his glasses. Zach was scanning the crowd intently.

We split up to watch them, but they never got up. An hour later karaoke night was in full swing behind us. Some tipsy girl was having the time of her life singing Taylor Swift's "_Trouble."_ I was currently alone at a table, watching the guys, while my friends observed from the crowd.

I was almost worried we'd missed our chance to find out who the guys were meeting when I noticed Zach was staring at something. I looked away from Zach for a second, but that was enough to see a flash of red hair disappear into the crowd. Red hair I knew I'd seen before. I froze.

In the corner of my eye I saw one of the guys stand up. I looked back to them, only to see Zach striding straight towards me.

"What are you doing here, Cameron?" Zach growled. Cameron, not Cammie or Gallagher Girl or Cam. He'd never called me Cameron before, and the look in his eyes as he said it scared me.

"I told you to stay at Georgetown," Zach closed his eyes and pushed his palms into them. "I should have known you wouldn't listen. You never do."

"I couldn't just stay, Zach-"

"No. Of course you couldn't. Even if it's to protect yourself, you never listen!" I'd only seen Zach angry a few times, but this wasn't it. Zach was _livid_.

"Zach-" I tried, but he wouldn't have it.

"Are the girls here?" He demanded. But he didn't even let me answer. "Of course they're here." He raised his hand to his ear. "Guys, find the girls. They're here somewhere. Keep them safe."

"They can take care of themselves, Zach," I tried.

Zach looked back to me. His eyes weren't as angry as they were worried now. He shook his head, "Not this time." We stood in thick silence for a few seconds. Then, it started.

The lights and music stopped. Zach grabbed my arm and hissed something in Farsi. A second later, the lights flashed back on. In the speakers a girl's voice was giggling. The same voice that haunted me.

"Sorry for the interruption, everyone. We have a very special song to sing for you. And the person this is dedicated to, you know who you are."

Beside me, Zach growled. He pulled me towards the door, but we found two big guards blocking the doors. They took one glance at Zach and grinned.

The voice on the speaker laughed. _"And it all burned down." _

Zach muttered a few more choice words in Farsi. I didn't understand why he didn't deal with them, but instead, to my utter confusion, he pulled me to the dance floor and wrapped his hands around my waist as the music started.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. I didn't understand, but he wouldn't let me talk. He pulled me in and kissed me hard before pulling back and saying it again. "I'm so sorry, Cam. I should have told you."

I wanted to ask him what was going on. What did I not know. Why he looked so terrified. But I never got the chance. Along with the music, a girl had started singing, and I heard the voice from my nightmares. A spotlight fell right on us.

_"Right now, he's probably slow dancing with a beached-blonde tramp, and she's probably getting frisky-" _

I couldn't see who was signing, but I felt Zach tense under my arms. Another spotlight zoned in on the bar, where Jonas and Liz had been having a drink. Jonas was looking terrifyingly at a little black haired girl, who was slowly approaching them, holding a microphone.

_"Right now, he's probably buying her some fruity, little drink, 'cuz she can't shoot a whiskey-" _

The black haired girl wasn't the same girl that haunted me, though her voice seemed vaguely familiar. The pain behind my eyes returned as I tried to remember where I'd heard it.

"Clara," I barely made out the whisper Zach didn't seem to realized he let out. But I didn't have time to think about it, because a third spotlight zoned in on Grant and Bex at the pool tables, and a tall, dirty blonde haired girl was striding towards them with another microphone. Grant looked uneasy as she started singing.

_"Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick, showing her how to shoot a combo... And he don't know-" _

Again, I heard Zach's breathy whisper, "Evelyn."

I watched all three boys flinch as the three voices sang together.

The girl Zach called Clara picked up a glass and sent it flying near Jonas's feet.

_"That I dug my key into the side of his pretty, little, souped up four wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seat-" _

The blonde Zach named Evelyn sent a dagger three inches from Grants hand.

_"I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights, slashed a hole in all four tires-" _

Zach suddenly pulled me to the side, just as a knife landed six inches from my leg.

"_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats."_

I couldn't help the fear that was churning in my gut. I looked back to Zach, who was pale as paper. We watched as the guys stood up and lead my friends towards us, followed by Clara and Evelyn. I had no idea where Macey was.

_"Right now she's probably up singing some white-trash version of version of Shania karaoke-_" the first voice sang.

_"Right now, she's probably saying 'I'm drunk' and he's thinking that he's gunna get lucky-" _Clara continued from behind Jonas.

_"Right now, he's probably dabbing on three dollars of that bathroom Pollo-"_ Evelyn sang, tapping Grant on the cheek. Bex looked like she wanted to do some illegal Brazilian maneuvers on her. Evelyn stared right back at Bex with the same intensity. Even in my fear I was shocked, impressed, and terrified that she wasn't trembling with fear. Even Bex seemed caught off guard. Then they reached us, and I heard_ the voice_ again. I still couldn't see the singer.

_"Oh, and he don't know," _

I could hear the anger and bitterness in all three singers voices as they sang the next verses together. I just couldn't fathom what was going on. Zach, Grant, and Jonas held us close and didn't let us move. They just stared at the girls in front of us, a look of half fear and half amazement in each of their eyes.

_"That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seat. I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires. Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats."_

Zach pulled me closer as the crowd started parting behind the Clara and Evelyn. _Her_ voice sang the last lines alone.

_"I probably saved some trouble for the next girl, because the next time that he cheats-" _

The crowd finally parted and a girl stepped into view. The girl that haunted my dreams. She looked my age. I gasped as I saw her. She had red hair, and her eyes were such a familiar shade of green. She was smirking as she stepped directly in front of Zach.

_"Oh, you know it won't be on me. No oh." _

The music stopped and everything was silent for five seconds as the girl who I'd never met, yet looked so familiar stood in front of Zach, smirking.

Zach finally let out a deep breath and stepped forward, letting go of me.

"Alyson."

Even though his voice was a whisper, I heard it as clear as a yell in the silence. The girl's smirk grew into a scary looking grin.

"Hello, Zachy," she said. The girl looked at me, "Hi, Cammie."

I finally found my voice, but it came out sounding like I'd just cried my heart out. "W-Who are you?"

The girl- Alyson- sighed and turned back to Zach. "Oh, Zachy. You never told your little girlfriend about your sister?"

* * *

***explosion* **

**I would like to congratulate Matisse Gacioppo, who guessed it in a review pretty early on... And anyone else who guess it as well... Also thank Stronger-Than-Fear for betaing! **

**Sooooooooo... What now hmmm? The secret is out. Time for the REAL fun... *thunder and lighting* **

**Thank you to everyone who has Fav/Followed/Reviewed, or just plain read this fic... You guys are awesome.**

Bookwormbullet: thank you! I always wondered what happened after UWS and then this popped into my head...

StrongerThanFear: Thank you, thank you... Ah, are you allowed to ship it? Hmmm... We shall see... *evil chuckle*

SoulofEssence: Well there is at least one question answered... And probably fifty more for you to ask... Answers will come in time, don't worry!

XxCandyyGirlxX: thank you! I hope you enjoyed this one.

Leila54352: That, my dear, was the reveal... Now the real fun can begin... And yes... Tension is coming in fast... (I'm following about a hundred fics too, lol)

Lanoon: YES! I finally kept my update once a week promise! Let's try for two!

Gymnast1150: thank you for your kind review! I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it.

* * *

**So... Hehe.. Now we can get some answers... And the REAL fun shall begin! **


	12. You Have a Sister

**Hello, readers! WOOHOO! Two weekly updates in a row! So I know last time I dropped the bombshell on you guys, so I'll keep this short. I don't own Gallagher Girls. There, now you can read...**

* * *

** .o You Have a Sister o.**

* * *

**Cammie POV **

_"You never told your little girlfriend about your sister?"_

Sister.

_Sister._

The word echoed in my brain until it lost its meaning.

Zach had a sister. It couldn't be true. It didn't make sense. Yet, here was the proof standing in front of me. Just looking at the girl Zach called Alyson, you could tell they were related. Her face, while feminine, had the same bone structure as Zach's. She had the same posture, the same smirk. The only thing that was drastically different about them was the hair. Her's was a flaming, deep red- just like her mother's.

But the thing that disturbed me most was her eyes.

How many times had I looked into those eyes? I stared them down when I faced Catherine. I gazed into them when I needed their assurance, their comfort. I saw them in my nightmares, haunting me. I looked into them before Zach kissed me.

And there they were. Reflected exactly in this girl's head.

Zach's sister was wearing black pants, a deep red top, a black leather jacket, and some black, high heeled boots that, had this been any other girl, I would have demanded she tell me where she got them. I could tell there were at least two knives and one gun on her belt. She was also wearing black and red gloves. Her hair came down in waves, framing her face. She looked like one of us. Mysterious. Intelligent. And, most of all, dangerous.

The girl smirked again, relishing in my confusion, in Zach's evident discomfort.

At least now I knew what his big secret was.

Didn't mean I liked it.

My brain was spinning, trying to digest the bombshell that had just dropped. I could only seem to put one coherent thought into words. "You have a sister."

I was surprised at how calm my voice sounded, especially when I was anything but. The only other time I remembered feeling this confused, shocked, hurt, and lied to, I had just found out his mother was the woman who had been haunting me for over a year, trying to kill me.

Turns out his sister had the same hobby.

In the far corner of my mind, the part that thought with logic only, without being fogged with emotion, everything seemed to click into place.

This is why Zach was the one to be singled out. This is why he was the one to get the notes, to be told only he could find them. This is why he was so secretive, why he wanted me to stay out of this, why he seemed so afraid. This was why he had apologized.

The girl standing in front of me responded to my statement faster than Zach could.

"Oh, I'm sorry, here," she stuck out her gloved hand, as if she was a normal girl meeting her brother's girlfriend, "My name's Alyson. And I know who you are, Cameron Ann Morgan." I saw a flash of something gleam in her eyes as she said my name, but before I could identify the emotion, it was gone.

_Three knives. Black and red nail polish. A soft laugh._

For the second time that day, a white-hot pain blazed behind my eyes. Images I couldn't name or make any sense of flashed through my mind.

Zach stepped in front of me, knocking Alyson's hand away before I had time to blink.

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice flat as a board.

Alyson sighed and put a hand over her heart. "That's all I get? You haven't seen me in almost a year, and all I get is 'what do you want?' I'm hurt, Zachy."

In a move so fast, I would have missed it if I'd blinked, Zach reached out and twisted his sister's hand back in a way that would have had any normal person yelling in pain. Alyson simply grinned.

"Don't call me that," Zach seethed. I'd never seen him like this. He looked like he was ready to rip her apart, yet all Alyson did was grin wider.

Zach put more pressure on Alyson's arm. If he put any more, he would break her hand. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

Beside us, someone snorted. All of our heads whipped towards the sound. Until that point I had practically forgotten the three of us weren't alone. The crowd that had surrounded us payed no more attention to us once the song ended- I couldn't help wonder what they assumed was happening- but my friends, the guys, and the other two girls were still standing next to us, silently watching. Until the blonde snorted, that is.

"Oh, come on, Zach. You know why we're here. That's why you're so scared," She said in a snarky tone. I wracked my brain for the name Zach had whispered. Evelyn.

She was taller than Alyson, and had more of a athletic build, like Bex. Her eyes were a stormy grey in her angular face. Her dirty blonde hair was cut into blunt layers, and her bangs stopped right before her eyes. She was wearing a deep green top that hugged her body, a brown jacket, and black pants with boots. Her five knives were not hidden in their place on her hip. She looked ready to kill. The way she stood made me think of a snake coiled up before attacking.

Zach didn't respond to Evelyn's comment in any way. But I could see in his eyes she had hit the nail on the head. Zach was on edge.

"I'm more surprised he's not asking _how_ we're here," the petite, raven haired girl- Clara- said. She was in a black dress with sleeves that hooked on her middle fingers and black flats. Her hair was down but pinned away from her face, showing her almost childlike features.

As I looked at the small girl, I couldn't help feeling that there was something- _off_ about her. Maybe it was the dreamlike quality of her voice, or the way her wide, blue eyes were wandering around the space just above Zach's head, like there was something flying around above him. But she seemed strange.

In the part of my mind that wasn't still spinning, the pieces clicked. Alyson. Clara. Evelyn. ACE. One glance at my friends told me they had come to the same realization. That was when I realized Macey was still missing.

"Where's my friend?" I asked. All three girls smiled at my question.

Alyson twisted her arm, releasing Zach's hold, and stepped back. "Don't worry. She should be here in a few moments."

Beside me, Bex let out what sounded like a snarl. I was sure she would have attacked Alyson right then if Grant hadn't been holding her in place. The guys had hardly moved since the girls had appeared, but Grant didn't hesitate to grab Bex in a iron grip.

"Where is Macey?" Bex demanded.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Relax," she drawled, "she was just locked in a bathroom. I didn't even tie her up. I'm sure you _Gallagher Girls_ know how to get out of a bathroom?"

I narrowed my eyes at the way she said Gallagher Girls, like we were a disease. The casual way she talked about abducting my friend made my skin crawl. Looking at Evelyn and Bex stare each other down I couldn't help wondering if there really was someone who could take Bex in a fight.

"Enough, _Viper," _Alyson said. Evelyn looked away. Bex seemed unnerved; no one had ever held her death stare, let alone returned it. It was like watching two alpha lions circle each other- only one would win the fight, and the winner took all.

Still holding Bex in place, Grant let out a chuckle. "You're still Viper? I thought you would have changed it by now."

Evelyn- or Viper- just rolled her eyes.

Clara let out a trilling laugh, and across from her, Jonas chuckled.

"You can't just 'change' your life long nickname, _Cobra," _Clara giggled.

Jonas laughed again. "He tried to change it to Greek God," he snickered, letting his arms fall from around Liz.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow and looked Grant up and down. "I don't see it," she said, while Grant feigned a heartache.

"That hurts," he said.

I was confused again. It was finally sinking in that Zach had a sister, and now the questions came flooding in. Why didn't Zach tell me? What else had he been keeping from me? Why was Zach so scared? But most of all, what did they want? Also, if these girls were so dangerous, why were the guys joking with them? I was getting impatient with the slowness of answers, and the joking way things seemed to have turned. Apparently, so was Zach.

I watched as he and Alyson rolled their eyes and groaned, mirroring each other exactly. It was then when I realized something that should have been obvious when Alyson first approached.

"You're twins."

* * *

**Zach POV**

Alyson and I both turned to Cammie. Around us, all of our friends' joking mood deflated as they remembered what was going on. It was just too easy to slip back into the way things were before everything changed. Before the inner war. Before we picked sides. Before we chose to go against each other. Before I abandoned them. Before- Cammie.

My sister- yes, my _twin- _smirked. Cammie said I had the world's most impossible smirk. She was wrong. Ally did.

Turning to Cam, I nodded slowly. I was torn on whether to be relieved or terrified that she knew my secret. I knew once the shock wore off, she was going to be mad. I was hoping I could keep the storm at bay until we were alone- or at least until ACE, as they've always called themselves, were gone.

My sister had no such concerns.

She turned to Cammie, and chuckled. "So he really didn't tell you. Nothing at all? No hints at his past? This is going to be so unsatisfactory if you don't even know what my motives are!"

I could see the bait for what it was. I hoped Cammie could too. Confusion, hurt, and anger were evident in her eyes.

Eva was right. I knew why they were here. I had just hoped I was wrong. Before Cammie could respond, I hissed at my sister. "Leave her out of this."

Alyson turned back to me, her eyes cold as ice. "Leave her out of this? Like _you_ left her out of this? We're here because of you, Zach. Not that you helped us to be able to be here in any way. "

I opened my mouth to respond, but Evelyn beat me to it.

"We were locked up because of you. I spent nine freaking months in Youngblood because of you and your little 'duty'! You're a filthy traitor! You. Left. Us."

Her words, even though they weren't at all the worst she could do, cut deep. I knew they would have to run when I left, but I never imagined they would get caught. At first I thought they just went under radar, like we'd planned. I had never dreamed they would be locked up.

Evelyn wasn't done though. She had been locked up, and now she wanted me to feel the guilt that was rightfully mine.

"Nine months in Youngblood. Do you know what that's like? Can you imagine what it was like?!"

I didn't. I had no idea what I would do if I was locked in Youngblood. Then I realized how much worse it would be for Eva. How it would feel after everything she went through. It felt like a stab in the gut, knowing what I put her through.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Grant take a half step towards her. I doubted he even realized he moved. Evelyn looked ready to lunge at me, but Ally put a hand on her arm, calming her slightly. Their eyes met for a second, and I saw the message loud and clear. 'Not now.'

Suddenly Clara's head shot up. "Behind the speaker."

No one had time to wonder what she was talking about. But I had already known what was coming before the knife went flying across the room. I glanced at Evelyn, whose hand was still extended from the throw. It seemed the nine months hadn't changed her deadly aim. We all stayed silent as Ally called out, "Why don't you join the party, Macey?"

I heard all three Gallagher Girls take in a breath as Macey came out behind the speaker, the knife stuck in the purse she was holding. I could tell the girls were worried, but they all kept their composure. They weren't used to being around ACE. They didn't know how they worked. I was surprised how little Evelyn's knife scene affected me. But then again, I'd trained with them, lived with them for over fifteen years.

I tried to read Macey's expression as she strode towards us, but she kept her face blank. Macey glanced once from me to Alyson, raised an eyebrow, and stood next to Cammie. "So, what we doing?" She asked, as if we were normal teens meeting here.

Alyson smirked at Macey. "Oh, they were just leaving," she said, pointing at all of us.

Evelyn looked at Ally in surprise. "But-"

"No 'but's'. I'm not doing anything until she knows exactly what we want," Alyson said, nodding towards Cam. Then she grinned, "Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon enough."

Bex took a step forward. "And what makes you think we're just going to let you leave?"

Clara smiled. "They do," she whispered, pointing a me and the guys. I glanced at Cammie, to see her expression, and only saw a blank face. This was going to get bad if I didn't get her away now. Sure she was going to explode once I got her to talk to me, but at least she would be away from my sister.

Bex wasn't convinced. "Why would they-"

"Well, there are two options," Ally cut her off. "You can follow us when we leave in two minutes and get hurt, or you can leave with them and get some well deserved answers. Don't you think they deserve some answers, Zach?" My sister looked back at me, smirking again. I felt Cammie stiffen next to me. She wasn't going to be able to wait much longer before exploding. By the looks of it, neither were her friends.

"Or how about-" Bex didn't get to finish her threat; Grant had pulled her behind him and away from Eva, who looked ready to maim Bex.

"Fine," I said, trying to stop whatever hell was about to break loose. "We'll leave. You're right about the fact I owe them answers."

Alyson grinned. "Good. You go spill your guts. Then the real fun can begin."

"If you think I'm just letting you leave, you're wrong."

My sister laughed. "Fine, just this time. What do you want?"

"No tracking us, no bugging us, no following us. And if you contact any of us in any way, it's going to be me," I stated.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, "Aw, Zach, are you getting paranoid?"

Alyson rolled her eyes but nodded, "Fine. We'll leave first. Come on, girls." She, Evelyn, and Clara took two steps back. "Oh, it was nice to see you again, Cammie!" Ally called before she turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Again? What did she mean again? As far as I knew, my sister had never met Cammie. I had made sure of that.

Grant, Jonas, and I shared and glance, then led the girls out of NightShade. They surprisingly followed us without a fight.

We made our way to the hotel in silence. Cammie walked stiffly beside me. I was afraid to look at her face. Bex looked ready to kill us. Liz, who had hardly said anything all night, walked timidly with Jonas. Her face was furrowed like it gets when she's cracking a difficult encryption code. Macey was walking ahead of us. From what I could see, she seemed that calmest out of all of us. That scared me.

When we got to the hotel, we made our way to my and the guys' room. I closed the door and turned the lock, then turned to face the storm.

Bex was still with Grant, leaning against the counter in the small kitchen area. Liz was sitting on the couch with Jonas. Macey was lounging in a chair, staring expectantly at me. But Cam was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, a hard glare in her eyes.

"You have a sister."

Cammie only said four words, but it made me crumble. I took a step forward, my eyes stinging, but she stepped back. "Cam-"

"You never told me you had a sister."

"I can explain."

"Explain what?!" Cammie screamed, everything she'd held back in the club breaking free. "That you lied to me?! That everything I ever thought I knew about you was a lie?! That you didn't trust me enough to tell me?!"

It hurt. It hurt because she was right. I could have told her a long time ago. She deserved to know. I had been too selfish. Hopeful. Scared. I had never wanted to face my past. I'd wanted to keep her safe, but I hadn't been willing to pay the price. I had wanted the easy way out. Now it was time to reap what I'd sown.

"Cam-"

"What does she want?!" I'd only seen Cammie cry a handful of times, and it broke my heart to see the tears glistening in her eyes now.

"Gallagher Gi-"

"What. Does. She. Want?"

I took a deep breath and released the word that had scared me the most in the past year.

_"Revenge."_

* * *

**OoOoOo... Revenge for what? Of course, I know, but you don't yet. Hehe...**

**Thank you, Stronger-Than-Fear, for being my beta...**

**OH MY GOSH! Last chapter got the most reviews yet! Thank you so much, guys!**

Bookwormbullet: I loved that review. Seriously. That was the exact reaction I was hoping for. It made me so excited to see it. I am so glad you like the idea of Alyson! Thank you for being such a dedicated reviewer! You review every chapter and they always make me smile.

Charly. klebe: I'm glad I surprised you! And I hope you liked the surprise! I still have a few more up my sleeve.

Lanoon: I did it! Yay! And, yes, Cammie did recognize them... Slightly... Hehe...

XxCandyyGirlxX: yup, sister... Now we can start the real fun...

Evelyn: yeah, last one was pretty crazy... Thank you, I really like Alyson too (Makes sense considering she's my character) And that is so neat! You share Viper's name!

Cheeky-monkey-hehehe: ah, yes, Catherine is dead... Well, I hope you continue to read; explanations are coming..

Greeneyedsmirker: Thank you! It was also one of the most fun to write...

My awesome Beta: (Stronger-Than-Fear) Hehe, I mashed their codenames into Vipbra, haha...

A fan: No, Zach never cheated on Cammie. Lied to, yes. Cheated, No. Sorry if you got confused. I just used that song because of the feelings behind it.

Liela54352: thank you, and patience grasshopper, answers are coming.

SoulofEssence: I love how you ask questions. And it really helps me see what I need to answer in future chapters and what I can wait until later for... So thank you! You help me write!

Chocolateh: Thank you! And I'm trying to update once a week!

Chameleonkeeper: Thank you so much! That made my day! I'm so glad you enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it!

**So, that's it until next time... Which, will hopefully be next Saturday! Byeeeee!- S**


	13. Haunting Memories

**Hey, guys... So yes, I know I'm late... By a lot... Sorry.. Life, writers block, distractions, and other fanfic projects have taken my time... But here is what ACE does after the last chap and a new POV... Enjoy...**

* * *

**.o Haunting Memories o.**

* * *

**Alyson POV**

As Evelyn, Clara, and I wove our way through the crowd, I couldn't help the smile that slid across my face. Everything was finally clicking into place. Soon Cameron would know exactly how much Zach lied to her, the guys'- particularly Grant's- anger would resurface, and our first steps to revenge would be complete. But, there was another reason for my smile. I saw Zach.

Sure, I was frustrated and angry at my stubborn, traitorous brother, but that didn't change the fact that this was the first time that I'd actually spoken to him in months.

I had missed him, and part of me was excited to see him again.

Then those happy feelings burned away when I remembered _why_ I hadn't spoken to him in so long.

He betrayed us. He abandoned us. He took everything I- _we_ had ever worked for and threw it all away for a girl. Did he claim he had a reason? I'm sure he did. But there was no explanation that would even _start_ to cover what he did to me. To us.

Then there were Grant and Jonas. Zach's friends- _my_ friends. They held less responsibility than my brother; it was nice to see them again. But they had a part to play in our abandonment nonetheless. They needed to pay as well. I was still working out how to do that.

Zach's consequence, however, I had planned out to the finest detail. I had even planned for _the girl_ to know nothing about us until now. I knew Zach wouldn't have told her. about us. After all the secrets he'd kept from us, the things he did with us, and just plain having a connection to us, I knew there was no way he would tell her his secret. Especially if he thought I was dead.

Anger churned in my gut as I thought about why he had assumed that- the way he didn't even look for us after everything was over. Sure, I supposed he thought he had searched everywhere, but I knew he didn't. If he had, he would have found me. I wasn't hiding from anyone but the 'good guys' after the Circle's downfall.

But of course, by then my brother had become one of them.

"Black Widow, where we going?" I heard Clara's soft voice in my ear. I shook my head, coming out of my brooding thoughts to direct my friends.

"Meet me in the alley behind the ice cream shop," I whispered.

"Why there?" Eva's sharp voice asked. She didn't like just letting them go without a scratch, but it needed to be done for my plan to work. We couldn't just attack them when they didn't even know why. Plus, mind games were always more fun way of torture in my opinion.

"Because that's where I said, Viper," I hissed into my comms. I could practically see her eyes rolling, so I added, "plus, I want a sundae."

* * *

For the ten minutes we had been sitting in our booth, near the back of the ice cream shop, Eva never stopped glaring at me, Clara never stopped humming quietly, and I simply scooped chocolate and vanilla ice cream and whipped topping into my mouth.

Finally, when I had tossed the the cherry up and caught it in my mouth, I looked up at Evelyn. "Are you just going to glare at me all night?"

"Are we just going to sit and do nothing all night?" She ground back.

I sighed, "That depends on your definition of 'nothing.'"

The blonde across from me snorted, "How could you just let them leave? This whole thing was about getting our revenge, and now you're eating ice cream!"

I shook my head, but Clara beat me to the answer.

"What's the point if they don't know why?" She whispered. "They don't know us, Eva. Zach lied to them," then her eyes got misty as she said her next sentence, "J-just like he lied to us."

I wrapped my arm around her and rubbed her back to keep her from crying. Evelyn just rolled her eyes, but I knew she saw why we didn't attack. She would have kept on growling at us if she hadn't.

After I paid for my sundae, (yes I actually _paid_... with money I stole) we made our way to the house we were staying in. (And yes, before you ask, we broke into it.)

I took off my party clothes and went to the bathroom to pull my hair into a loose ponytail. Looking in the mirror, I was reminded yet again of my resemblance to my mother. Same auburn hair, same piercing green eyes, same thin mouth. Growing up, I had been told I looked just like Catherine. As far as I knew, I didn't resemble my father hardly at all. Not that I had anything to compare myself to; or that I even cared. My father abandoned us when Zach and I were little and, as far as I knew, was dead. No one survived leaving the Circle.

No one but us.

_Run. Run and don't stop. They're following. You can't outrun them. You're going to get caught. If you're caught, you die_.

I shook my head to clear the memories that still haunted me. I couldn't start to dwell on the past now. My head needed to be clear to do what needed to be done. Dwelling on the pain Zach had caused wouldn't help me in my mission. It would only make me act rashly to remember exactly why I hated my own brother.

_But you don't hate him. _The little voice in my head whispered.

I shook my head. "Yes, I do," I growled to my reflection, gripping the sides of the sink. As I looked up, I saw my mother looking back at me.

I screamed.

It took me one second to realize that I was only looking at myself. I backed up until my back hit the cold bathroom wall. I stood there staring at myself, tears brimming my eyes. It had been that way since I found out what happened to Catherine. I couldn't look in a mirror with out seeing her. Sometimes it caught me off guard though. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall as I heard my cousin's soft footsteps outside the door. She didn't knock. She knew I would know she was there.

"I'm okay, Clara," I choked out. There was no response, but I heard the soft clicks of the lock being picked. A second later, I felt two small arms wrap around my shoulders.

"No, you're not," my little cousin whispered as she hugged me. "But it's okay. You can't always be the strong one, you know."

I leaned into her, still trying not to cry, and I almost succeeded, until she started singing.

_"Above the plains up on the hill, there stood a castle bold. A gleaming palace made of white, a pillar to behold-"_

I sighed, and as my cousin rubbed my back, humming our childhood lullaby, I released the sobs that I'd been holding back for months. "She's gone. She's- He- He didn't even-" I choked.

My mother was dead. She was never coming back. I wasn't there to save her, but Zach _was_. Zach was, and _he let her die. _

I knew Zach never liked what our mother stood for. Heck, I knew he didn't even like _her_. But she was his _mother_. I may have not been thrilled about what Catherine wanted, but to let her die? He could have saved her. Not just from the fire, but from herself if he would have tried like I did. We could have brought her back to us. But instead, he chose the _girl._ He chose _her_ over me. Over mom. Over protecting his cousin. Over helping Eva. Over being loyal anyone who ever trusted him.

And now, he was going to pay.

I heard someone inhale sharply, and opened my eyes to see Eva's blonde hair whipping around the corner, heading towards the living room. Great. That's just what I needed. I sighed and stood up. Clara helped me clean my face, and we made our way to the other room.

Evelyn was sharpening her knives on the couch. She glanced up when we entered, her face completely blank. If she was affected at all by what she saw, I couldn't tell. She had perfected her emotionless mask by the time we were twelve; even I couldn't read her emotions when she didn't want me to.

After two minutes of silence, I finally sighed. "Just ask. I don't want you to combust or something."

Evelyn continued sharpening her knives, the ring of metal hitting metal the only sound in the room. Eventually, she looked up. "_Why_?"

The question seemed simple or even vague to anyone that didn't know exactly what she was asking, but I did. I just didn't want to answer.

"She realized her mother's never coming back," Clara blurted when I didn't answer right away. I inwardly groaned. Why did she pick that wording?

Eva's expression never changed, her knives never stopped their rhythmic song, but she couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. "You're mother's never coming back," she echoed. She finally smiled bitterly and sheathed her knives. "Yeah, well, I know the feeling. But at least you knew her, at least you knew that she could have come back. At least you know that she even wanted to come back!" she hissed.

"Eva-" I tried, but she was already striding off. I sighed. Clara looked ready to run after her, but I shook my head. "She just needs time," I told her. "You know how she is."

Clara nodded, tears swelling in her eyes. "I- I forgot for a second."

"I know, it's alright."

* * *

**Evelyn POV **

I went straight to the back room and slammed the door. Why Alyson put my things into _this _room over the rest, I'll never comprehend. There was a twin sized, princess decorated bed against the left wall, a pink dresser against the other wall, purple curtains, and more pink and purple toys and decorations than I cared to even count. The room obviously belonged to an annoyingly young girl.

There were pictures of a little girl and her parents all over the walls. Them at the park. A fourth birthday party. The girl blowing out a number six candle. Fun days at the carnival. The room practically screamed 'Happy family!'

Why would anyone in their right mind put me in here?

I didn't need any reminders my mother robbed me of my childhood. I didn't need what could have been mine shoved in my face. I didn't need to be reminded that I had been abandoned by my parents. That Catherine and the Circle had been my only family. That even that had been ripped away from me.

It took all my self control not to slice everything in that room to bits. It was strange that I was still so bitter, considering I hardly remember my mother. But I know enough about good parents to know they don't just leave kids at the park and never return. I don't remember where I lived, or what I did before Catherine found me and took me in. Catherine adopted me and showed me what I could do, how I could change things. That I actually had a place in the world. Thinking about it, I wasn't bitter that I was denied this pink glee. I was bitter I had been _left behind_. Discarded. Unwanted. Left on a swing set in the middle of nowhere.

Growing up in our sector of the Circle, the one thing you learned before anything is that you never abandon each other. But I had been left. By my mother first.

Then by Zach.

He had promised not to leave. He had promised to help Clara. He had sworn he would always be there for me- for _us_. Yet all those promises seemed to vaporize when_ that girl_ appeared.

Then I was locked up.

Snapping out of those thoughts before they went to far, I slipped out of my 'nice clothes' and put on a black t-shirt and comfortable jeans. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, laying on the princess bed. I knew I shouldn't be mad at Alyson; she had done everything for us. She broke us out, she made sure we hadn't been found, she stuck with us even after her brother left. I just couldn't help the bitterness I had towards her at times.

She'd always had her mother. She was raised, trained, and brought up by her mother. She'd had her brother. She'd had friends before Catherine brought me home that stormy night. Sure, I knew it hurt losing all of that. But at least she had something to lose! She didn't realize what being able to cry on a bathroom floor, being comforted by more family meant! Well, she needed to learn how to suck it up, like I was forced to at the age of _nine._

I shook my head. I was jealous of my friend's reason for hurting, of her pain. There was something wrong with me. But I already knew that. I wasn't sent to Youngblood for no reason, now was I?

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my fingers. I might have dosed off, because I sat up with a start when I heard a small bang through the door.

Sighing, I sat up. Glancing at the Hello Kitty clock on the wall, I realized I'd been lying in here for almost five hours. It was almost seven am. I swung my legs over the bed and walked into the main room, prepared myself to face whatever was there.

Clara was curled up on the couch, asleep. Alyson was on a chair, a laptop open on her lap. She glanced up when I entered, her eyes following me as I sat down in the middle of the floor. When I look up at her, her eyes dropped back to the screen. Great. I was not going to be the one to start talking, so I grabbed a knife and sent it flying past her ear.

It took about two seconds for Ally to glance up again. She reached up and pulled the knife out of the chair. "You know, we're not supposed to leave evidence we were here."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure they can deal with a hole in their chair."

Alyson rolled her eyes and put the computer on the desk next to her. She looked hesitant to say something.

I sighed. "Look, about last night-"

"You know Clara didn't mean-"

"I know!" I snapped, glaring at her. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "Just forget it. I know what she meant. Just don't expect me to go all mushy and supportive too, because you need to suck it up."

Ally rolled her eyes and gave a tiny smirk. "Wouldn't dream of it." Then she smirked bigger and turned the computer towards me. "Come take a look. I have our next move planned."

I took one look at the screen and grinned. Oh, this was going to be fun.

* * *

Ally and I were knocked out of our planning about an hour later by a small scream. We whipped around to see Clara gasping, still half asleep. I rolled my eyes. She needed to learn to deal with her nightmares. I had.

Alyson stood up and walked over to dear, little Clarissa. "It's alright," I heard her whisper. I hated when people said that. No. It's not alright, and it will probably never be alright. Yet people throw that phase around just for a comfort. It bugged me to an extreme.

Then there was that small voice. _Your just jealous that she has someone to do that for her. _

I bit back a growl. I didn't hear voices, but sometimes it seemed my own brain went against me. I was not jealous of Clara. I was not jealous that my best friends were related by blood. I was not jealous that I would always be the one that was brought home, not one that was born into this. I was not jealous of anything.

Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I would believe it eventually.

Sighing, I turned and watched as Ally asked Clara what was wrong.

"H-He wanted to u-use me again, t-to help another one of h-his projects," she stuttered, still gasping. "I w-wasn't fast enough."

I watched in wonder at how Alyson Goode, one of the most dangerous people I knew, soothed her cousin. Stroking her hair, whispering comforts like, "It's alright. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

'He's gone,' she said. It was ridiculous how even assassins avoided the word 'dead' sometimes. But then again, we weren't the ones to kill Clara's father. That was one of the only positive things that came for us from the Circle's fall. From Zach's betrayal.

Apparently, Clara was still freaked out. She had started ignoring Ally and was singing, with that freaky, childish, wonder look in her eyes.

_"In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullabies-" _

I quickly tuned Clara out, knowing that she would sing until she fell back asleep. Hopefully, when she woke up, she would be in reality, not her head. I didn't think I could take a 'dreaming' Clara now.

Alyson gave up trying to talk to her after two minutes and came back to where I was sitting. "I wish we could help her," she sighed.

"It's not our fault she hid the truth until it was too late," I said. It wasn't. We were ten when we found out what was happening to Clara. Since then, we had hidden, protected and helped her stay away from her psychotic father. Her mother died when she was five, so we were her only chance.

It still amazed me how Clara is part of the greatest- and youngest- assassin team in the world, and she refuses to attack anyone herself. She'll help us finish a target, but she has never physically hurt anyone. All because of what she went through.

Don't be mistaken though. Clara could hold her own in a fight. She wouldn't hurt the other person physically, but years of running, hiding, training, and escaping had made her nearly impossible to catch. She could outrun anyone, climb practically anything, and if you ever did grab her, she could release almost any hold. If only she was mentally stable, I would have even said she could rival me in a fight. But she wasn't.

Alyson stared at her younger cousin for a minute, then turned back to our plans for the next couple of days. Shaking off her concern for Clara, she asked me, "When we play, who should be 'it'?"

I grinned and began playing with my knife. "Let Zachy be 'it' this time. I'd love to see him find us now."

She nodded and went back to her plans. In two days we would contact Zach again. I would see Grant again. I felt excitement shiver down my back as I thought of what fun we were going to have.

Zach knew we were here. He knew what we wanted. Now it was time to let the games begin.

* * *

**There we go... Some insight, kinda... I'm lacking I separation so this AN is short... Hope you guys like it... I can't promise when I can update, so I won't get hopes up... But know I always aim for once a week... Now for my wonderful reviewers!**

**stronger-than-fear: thanks for betaing...**

**bookwormbullet: Well, we got some hints at the end.. I'm so glad you're enjoying this and can't wait for you to read what's coming!**

**SoulofEssence: We shall learn more about the girls' and Zach's past next chap! More about their plans and lives will be revealed soon! Thank you for reviewing!**

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: thank you... Sorry I'm not as consistent as I want to be...**

**XxCandyyGirlxX: Hooray! I was worried this was a cliche idea... Glad you like it!**

**Matisse Gacioppo: You are a part of ACE, remember, Viper? Haha... Glad you like it! More evil fun is coming...**

**PLLandGG: Yes.. We will learn more about ACE's past and want for revenge in the next chapter... Sorry for the delay... Glad you like it! Thank you for reviewing!**

**So, thank you guys again... I'll try for next week... We'll see if I can do it... Please REVIEW!**


	14. Story Time

**Alright guys. I'm sorry. Life is crazy...**

** I apologize in advance because this one is very, very slow. It's the first big filler chapter, but it's absolutely necessary. I think you'll find it interesting, but it is a bit boring compared to the rest. **

**Alright, I'll let you guys read now... Please tell me what you think...**

* * *

**.o Story Time o.**

* * *

**Cammie POV**

"Revenge for what?" I asked slowly, still fighting the urge to strangle Zach then and there. But if I did that, we wouldn't get answers. Waves of anger, hurt, and betrayal washed over me again and again. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch Zach- and his sister- in the nose. But most of all, I wanted answers. Now.

Zach opened his mouth, only to close it again. Of course he wouldn't respond. I was about to start screaming again when someone else did it for me.

"Stop being a coward and tell them!" a furious voice yelled. Everyone in the room turned to Grant, who had stepped away from Bex and the counter, and was storming towards Zach. His hands were shaking from rage as he took another step closer to Zach. "Tell her," he hissed, "or I will."

"Grant," Jonas started, standing up from the couch. He looked extremely nervous, glancing between Zach and Grant.

Subconsciously, I was aware of my friends coming up next to me, watching the guys as intently as I was.

"Tell Cammie why Alyson hates her. Why Eva is ready to maim you. Why Clara-"

"Grant, stop!"

Grant whipped around to Jonas. "He did this!" Grant hissed, pointing at Zach. "After everything that happened, he left them. He didn't even tell us-"

"You know it was the only way-"

"Was it!? Was it really?!"

Their yelling match was cut off by a sharp whistle. Everyone's heads turned to Macey. "Listen. All I know is that while I was doing surveillance, some blonde girl knocked me out, and I woke up on the floor in a bathroom. Now, _somebody_ better tell me what is going on, or I will throttle all of you," she said, pointing at the guys.

Finally, Zach sighed. "Alyson is my sister. Clara's my cousin, and Evelyn- she's family."

Grant looked ready to say something, but Jonas elbowed him in the side.

Zach looked at all of us warily. I raised my eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to continue. The hurt and anger of being lied to wasn't gone; it had just faded behind the need to understand what was going on. I was done getting mad at Zach- for now; it wouldn't accomplish anything. I wanted answers.

I could deal with Zach after I got them.

Zach shifted uncomfortably, then continued. "Ally wants revenge on me for helping Cam, and by extension, wants revenge on you," he said, looking at me.

"Why?" Piped Liz, stepping forward. "And where has she been all this time?"

Grant snorted, receiving yet another smack from Jonas. Jonas shook his head at him, then turned to Liz. "Until recently, we believed she, Clara, and Eva were- uh, dead."

At that, Grant stiffened but didn't say anything. I wondered what was wrong with him. The only thing I could think of was that he must have been close to these girls. Or at least one in particular.

"Dead?" Bex ask.

Zach nodded. "There were some _events_ before and after the last time I saw them that led me to believe they were captured by the Circle again. No one survives leaving, you see."

"You did," I stated.

Zach shook his head. "I was a double agent from the beginning. Plus, I had help."

I didn't get to respond because Macey burst, "Wait. Your sister, cousin, and friend were part of the Circle? Like, full members of the Circle!"

Zach nodded slowly. "It's really complicated."

"Understatement," Grant coughed into his fist.

"Then why-"

"Wait!"

Everyone's heads turned in shock to Liz, who had yelled. Her hands were raised, and she looked frustrated like when one of her formulas has a slight error. "Everyone sit down, and Zach is going to tell us everything from the beginning!" She commanded. "This is way too confusing, and we won't get anywhere with interruptions every five seconds."

I nodded in agreement and moved towards the couch. So did everyone else. Once we were seated, Macey leaned in and said, "Alright, _Zach_, let story time begin."

* * *

**Zach POV**

Everyone stared at me expectantly as I sat in the chair across from Cammie. I couldn't bring myself to look at her face, so I glanced at my friends. Jonas was watching me carefully, but Grant was glaring from his place beside Bex. It seemed his anger never truly burned out.

I took a deep breath, finally ready to release the secrets of my past. Well, a lot of them anyway. Some things were still too sensitive to share right now.

"When we were young, Catherine began training Alyson and me to join the Circle," I started, staring at the ground. "Our training started as soon as we could walk, probably like your training," I said, glancing up at Cam and Bex. The later narrowed her eyes and nodded slightly.

"We trained and grew up together. Clara, my cousin, started spending a lot of time with us after her mother, Catherine's sister, died-"

"Your mother had a sister?"

I glanced up at Liz, who had a notebook out and seemed to be jotting down notes like this was a lecture. I nodded, continuing. "Aunt Laura was three years younger than Catherine. She didn't go to Gallagher, but the Circle recruited her when her sister joined. Her daughter Clarissa is one of the best computer geniuses there are."

I watched as the girls' eyebrows rose. They glanced from Liz to Jonas.

"Better than Jonas?" Macey asked, not asking what she actually wanted to know. Jonas was the only person we knew to rival Liz. I turned to Jonas, one eyebrow raised.

"We would always challenge one another," he shrugged. "Since the separation," he gave me a look, "I wouldn't know how good she is now."

Everyone looked uneasy hearing that. Bex was the first to bring us out of our thoughts.

"Okay, so your cousin is good," she sighed, her posture too rigid for my liking. "You still haven't explained what's going on."

I nodded and went on. "When we were eight, Catherine brought Evelyn to us. Eva had been left at a park for two days. Apparently, a Circle member had seen potential in her and sent Catherine to get her. We grew up together after that. Training, joking, and moving from Circle base to base," I said. I stiffened as I remembered what happened next. "Then, when we were ten, we found out about Clara."

I sighed as I remembered that day. The scream. The needles. The frantic look in my little cousin's eyes. I looked up to see the girls leaning in with confused faces. Grant had gone rigid and was glaring at nothing. Jonas was gripping the arm of his chair so hard his knuckles were white. They hadn't come into our lives until we were twelve, but they knew what had happened. They'd heard the stories. They'd seen the results in Clara.

"When we were ten, we found out what happened to Clara when she wasn't with us- when she was with her father. I never knew who Clara's father was until we were much older. Clara would never tell. But, Clara's father was a psychopath that used her for practicing interrogation and mind manipulating tactics. Clara never told anyone, and only she and her father knew. By the time we found out, Clara had been going through this for years. It- I don't know exactly what it did to her," I sighed.

It hurt to remember what my cousin went through when she was younger. I looked up at Jonas, and he nodded slightly.

"Because Clara was so young when these sessions began," he explained, his voice tight, "her mind comforted and protected itself the only way it could. Clara had subconsciously built a imaginary world for herself to escape into. Unlike other children though, it took her years to realize that her world wasn't real," Jonas glanced up at me.

I sighed, "Even now, when she's in distress, she can slip back into her own mind until something knocks her back into reality." I looked up to see the girls' wide eyes and horrified, curious, and confused expressions. After a few minutes, Bex shook her head.

"That's the bloody freakiest thing I've heard."

Macey nodded. "While I hate what happened to her and am horrified, what exactly does this have to do with ACE wanting revenge?"

I was about to go on with my explanation, but was cut off as Cammie finally spoke for the first time since I'd started.

"Who was her father?"

"I don't think now is the best time, Galla-"

Cammie finally looked up at me. Her eyes were hard, yet she looked nearly desperate. "Who. Was. Her. Father?"

"I- "

"Dr. Steven Sanders."

Cammie and I looked at Grant. He glared at me and shrugged. "I told you- if you don't tell her, I will."

I glared at him, then turned to watch Cam's reaction. Her eyes widened, and her face paled. After a few seconds, her face went back to her unreadable mask. She nodded and said, "Okay."

I watched her warily until Bex cleared her throat. "The explanation, Zach."

Nodding, I continued explaining my twisted childhood. "When Alyson, Eva, and I found out, we made it our mission to protect Clara. We succeeded for a long time, running from safe house to safe house, staying under the Circle's radar. Since that was what they were training us for, the Circle never looked into it or tried to stop us." I shrugged, "The Circle isn't recognized for producing the most responsible parents. It wasn't until I reached the age to start Blackthorne that they tracked us down. I was sent to Blackthorne and Alyson, Clara, and Evelyn were kept with the Circle to begin their 'official Circle' training." I looked up at the spies in front of me. "They began their assassin training."

The girls' reactions were practically identical. They all stiffened and narrowed their eyes slightly. Bex looked like someone had just challenged her. Liz looked slightly nervous. Macey looked suspicious. Cammie only nodded. Her expression made me think she had guessed this about my sister and her friends already.

"I don't know what happened while I was at Blackthorne, but every time I would come back, they seemed more ruthless. They were becoming the Circle's best assassin team. One summer, when we were older, we were sent on a trial mission to track a former Circle member they needed taken out. We, apparently, were the distraction, because they didn't worry when Joe Solomon caught us." I snuck a glance at Cam's face, "But, the one thing Joe didn't count on was his tails to be a group of fourteen year olds."

I smirked, remembering the impressed look on Joe's face when he saw me and Ally.

"Alyson never trusted Joe, but as I continued at Blackthorne, I was able to talk to him more. Joe showed me what the Circle was, what they wanted, and that there was another way to use our skills." I sighed, "I tried to tell my sister, but she was around Catherine too much to be interested. She said that she was going to be loyal to family no matter what- even if they were psychotic."

Shaking my head, I looked up at Cammie again to see her face full of interest. Bex, Liz, and Macey mirroring her. This was the most I'd ever told anyone of my past. I was surprised at how relieving it was to let my secrets go.

"By the time we were fifteen, I was still meeting Joe. Ally still didn't trust him, and the fact I was still in contact with him built a small wall between us- though I didn't see it at the time. My sister could tell my views on the Circle had changed; she claimed I was starting to sound like a traitor.

"One day, before my spring, Sophomore term in Blackthorne, Joe offered me a small assignment. The Circle had shown interest in a subject, and he wanted me to go in as a double agent." I smiled a bittersweet smile, "You might be able guess what happened next, Gallagher Girl."

Cammie stiffened as she realized what I was talking about. "He wanted you to get information about me."

I shook my head slightly. "He wanted to know why the Circle wanted information about you. He knew that the Circle had started looking into you, but there seemed to be no reason for their interest. My job was to find out why they were interested, but I got close to you because _I_ wanted to."

Cammie snorted, "Exactly how am I supposed to believe that after this? After how much you've lied to me?"

I winced. It stung because I knew it was coming. I knew it would be difficult to trust me after I told them. That's one of the reasons I kept quiet for so long- I had been scared.

I sighed, "You have every right to be mad at me, but I want you to know that everything I've ever told you about how I feel has been true, Cam." I looked her directly in the eyes. "I've never lied about that."

Cammie controlled her emotions too well for my liking. Her face didn't betray a thing. She looked away and muttered, "Just get on with the story, Zach."

Sighing, I obeyed. "I didn't talk to ACE much when we were at Gallagher. I didn't really see them much for the next few months, until the Circle was getting ready for an attack. An attack that my sister helped with- in Boston."

I jumped back in my chair as Macey lunged forwards. "Your sister helped in Boston?" She yelled.

Bex grabbed her arm. I believe that's the only thing that kept her from smacking me. I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "Yes, she and her friends helped."

Bex got Macey to sit back down, and Cammie looked up at me, her eyes piercing. "Did you help?"

My eyes widened as I realized what she now thought I was capable of. It hurt to know she had lost that much trust in me. I glanced up at Grant and Jonas. Jonas was sitting in his chair, watching the scene before him intently. Grant had stood and started pacing the room, occasionally glaring at me.

I looked back at Cammie. "No. No, I did not help. I tried to stop her, but not hard enough. I didn't understand exactly how much was wrong at the time, but, Cam, I would _never_ help something like that."

Grant snorted under his breath. I tried to ignore him. Our issues needed to be resolved between _us_. Not with the girls here.

Cam just shook her head. No one said anything for a minute, so I continued. "After the attack, I started looking into why the Circle was attacking. Ally and I started arguing too. She didn't want to deal with all my questions. Her main objective was to keep the Circle off her back and protect Clara. Over the year, as I started wandering away to check on you or look into something, and we started arguing more. Alyson said that I was risking not only my safety in the Circle, but her, Evelyn, and Clara's too. Yet, we continued to help each other, despite the tension between us. Then everything changed after I took you to Blackthorne."

"Your sister was there at Blackthorne?" Liz asked.

I nodded sadly, "She's the reason Joe and I survived." I looked down and said quietly, "But, she was discovered for helping me." I glanced back up, "She was pronounced a Circle traitor, as was I, and forced to run."

There was crash and we all tuned to see Grant next to a shattered vase and flowers covering the floor. He was staring at me, hatred evident in his eyes. I stared back at him, daring him to say what I knew he was dying to.

Grant didn't rise to the challenge. He only glared and stormed out of Cam's hotel room. I knew he I was going to have to talk to him as soon as we got back to our room. I needed to finish this story before he did something rash, no matter the pain it caused to me relive.

I turned back to the girls and began speaking quicker than before. "When she ran, I lost contact with her because-" I paused, sighing a little, "because I chose to stay at Gallagher to watch you instead of run with them.

"I- I chose to let them fend for themselves. Against the Circle. Against the Agency. I chose to stay with you Cam, and now-" I shook my head. "Now she wants me to pay." Pay for leaving. Pay for choosing. Pay for things I was ashamed of but couldn't get myself to regret.

Was there more to it than me simply choosing to stay? Yes. Were there things I hadn't said? Yep. They didn't need to know every detail. Especially not now. Plus, there were things even I didn't know. I didn't know what happened to them after they ran. Sure I saw them a handful of times, but I have no idea what they did. Only that they were eventually caught, and I assumed were taken out. Obviously, that wasn't the case.

Cam didn't make anything to show her feelings on what I'd said. She just sat there like a statue. I would have preferred she start screaming again. Instead it was Bex who spoke first.

"Zach, I think you should go."

"What?" I stared at her. Go? Why should I go? Why did I need to go?

Macey stood and crossed her arms. "Because, Zach, we asked you to leave. Now leave."

I didn't understand. But before I got to say so, Liz stood too.

"Zach, we just need some time to think, okay?"

"But-"

"Zach," Jonas said, coming to grab my arm. "We should talk to Grant."

I sighed, looking at the girls. They had circled around Cammie. It looked as if they were defending her- from me. Cam had closed her eyes. Knowing the girls, they were probably right. It was most likely for the best I leave. But I could get myself to want to go.

Jonas sighed and yanked my arm. "Zach. Come on." He pulled me out of the room and we made our way up to our suit. From outside the door I could hear the sounds of things being hit. Smashed. Thrown. I sighed. Grant was a whole other task to deal with. I glanced at Jonas, and we opened the door to face the storm that was in our room.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Yeah... Not the best... But hey, it's a chapter...**

**Again. I'm sorry for the filler, and for taking soooooooooo long... **

**What can I say? Holidays, sickness, school, writers block issues... I got really busy these last few weeks... But never fear, I reread all my notes. this story WILL be finished. And guess what? We're about a third ways through it! **

**Now. I won't have a lot of time to write until AFTER the holidays... So might not update until mid-January... But I'll try... **

**Did anyone notice I gave my chapters titles? Now they're not confusing numbers! Haha. **

**Now, for my wonderfully patient reviewers! **

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**Hmmm.. Who could that first reviewer be? "Ew I logged out?" I mean, it's not like I would automatically KNOW who it was... Hehe... Jk... Now, maybe you should have hounded me to update! *sigh* it took forever! Thanks as always! **

**Lanoon: Even more history here. As for the fight... Don't worry, it's coming. Just not quite yet. I still have a few more tricks before Cam snaps. **

**BookwormBullet: Yes, I personally love the evil characters. They have so much potential for background and twisted paths. Family villains are the best to me, can you tell? We shall be getting more of ACE's POVs in the next couple of chapters.**

**SoulofEssence: Well I do hope you haven't killed anyone in my absence. Ah, there are some answers here, and more to come... But yes, I try to keep the story flowing and give enough answers, yet also keep you guys hooked. I'm glad it's working. **

**Monkeygirl1425: Thank you! I love knowing people are enjoying my story! I'm sorry for the long wait... Holidays are always a busy time for me... I'm glad you like the twists! I still have a few more up my sleeve... **

**My Evil Twin: (Matisse) Thank you! And yes... I am Ally. You figured it out! Hope you liked this even though it was slow... **

**Tabitha: I'm sorry! I hate not updating for so long! I honestly try not to go over a week or two without an update, but holidays are always a busy time... I love complex characters too! The twisted pasts and mind sets. Ruthless people, hurting characters... It's all so intriguing to me I made up my own! I'm glad you like my story! **

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**Alright...**

**So, like I said. Probably won't be another update until after New Years... But we'll see... **

**Next is Cam, Grant and Zach's fight, and some ACE! More action than this one, promise! **

**Love you all and thank you for waiting! MERRY CHRISTMAS! - S **


	15. You Left Them

**(NEW POLL ON BIO see A/N at end of chapter for details.)**

**I liiiiiiiiiivvveeeeeee! *thunder and dramatic smoke*  
**

**So, sorry for the long wait. I had the worst writer's block ever. **

**So let's see... Since I've been gone, FoB released their new album- I'm so excited! I love it! I've gotten a Tumblr (see bio for details), and I've read seven books, and I edited the previous chapters' layout, but sadly I did not acquire the rights to Gallagher Girls. Those still belong to Ally Carter.  
**

**Okay, now if you actually read all of that, here is the chapter!**

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_.o_ **You Left Them**_ o.  
_

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**Cammie POV**

Frozen.

That's how I felt after hearing Zach's story. Frozen.

I was frozen from shock. Frozen from disbelief. Frozen from the swirling, jumbled trainwreck my thoughts were. A Gallagher Girl must have a quick mind. She must be able to process and digest then apply new information, adjusting to whatever the new information means for her situation and objective. She must be able to take in everything in a matter of seconds. Most times, more than her own life depends on it. Never does she have the privilege of being caught off guard- of freezing up.

But I did.

It was as if someone had taken the delicately woven tapestry I knew of Zach, of his past, of _my _past, and said, "Oh, you think think that's it? Here are fifty more colors that are actually supposed to be in there."

As quick as my brain was, as smart as I was, the recent discoveries of Zach's past and his sister's life had thrown a wrench in my system. I felt like my mind was struggling to process the entirety of what Zach had told us. My brain wasn't used to the feeling of scrambling to put so much together at once, with still so many pieces missing. So, for the few minutes after Zach stopped talking, I was frozen.

I was vaguely aware of my friends telling Zach to leave- of the look Zach gave me before he was pulled along by Jonas. The look that was part worry, part apology, and part something I couldn't name.

My mind felt like a filing system, quickly placing all the new info into the proper place in my memory and knowledge of the past.

Zach had a sister who felt betrayed, possibly abandoned, a genius cousin who seemed slightly insane, and a friend who was abandoned as a girl. And all three wanted to get revenge on Zach for leaving them for me. And possibly kill me.

Did it seem way more complicated than that?

Yes.

Did I think Zach was still holding back some details?

Yes.

Did I trust that he would tell me more?

Not really.

I knew, in the back of my mind, that I could understand why Zach was scared to tell us about his past. He was the son of the woman who tortured me and killed my father. His background wasn't like the rest of ours, and now hearing about his past and sister, I could see how worried he was about opening up.

Even though I understood, it didn't mean I was okay with him keeping so many secrets. It didn't mean I wasn't wary about how much I could trust Zach now. I needed more time to see how much I still could depend on him to talk to me about things.

Secrets are a part of spy life. There are some you have to keep in and others you don't dare let out. I learned that a long time ago. But which kind were Zach's?

After about five minutes of not moving while my brain sorted everything, I looked up at my friends. "So?..."

Bex crossed her arms, "Well, now we know why he was so scared."

"I think he's scared of what his sister is going to do. You saw how he acted around her," Liz said from her spot on the couch across from me. "And from his story, they're dangerous."

"From his story, his sister is a psychopath," Macey said.

I shook my head. As insane as his sister sounded to me, I could see where she came from. I could understand what she felt like she was doing. Zach did stay with us after he took us to Blackthorne. Now knowing what- _who_ he left behind, I wasn't sure what to think of it. Was it sweet or disturbing that he left his sister to the Circle to protect me? He did leave them, but did the reason make it better or worse? His sister hated me. That much was obvious, and I couldn't help the feeling she had every right to. All the more reason for Zach to tell me.

Of course even though I was confused what to feel about Zach's sister, I wasn't confused on the fact that she needed to be stopped. After we were done there we needed to get Zach to tell us what he knows about what ACE was going to do next.

"I can't believe we never knew he had a sister," Liz said. She hated not knowing things, especially knowing she didn't know something.

Bex was in the fridge getting a glass of cranberry juice. "Well, he was an idiot not to tell us. Who doesn't tell anyone about something like that?"

It was then that a thought occurred to me. Something I should have realized when Zach was telling his story. "Zach wasn't the only one who didn't tell us."

I felt, rather than saw all my friends look up at me.

"What?'

"Who?"

"What do you mean?"

I couldn't keep my hands from shaking slightly as I said, "Zach's not the only one who knew and didn't tell us. Joe knew. Joe's known all this time, and he never said anything. Remember what he said in London?"

The looks on my friends' faces told me they did remember.

_Don't be mad when you find him. He wanted to tell you._

Joe knew. Zach probably talked to him as soon as he realized it was his sister. Who else knew and kept it from us?

It felt like betrayal even though I knew it wasn't. Joe had no reason to tell me. It was Zach's secret. His sister. My step-father never had to tell me, but it still felt like a betrayal that he didn't. As a spy, I knew there were going to be secrets. I knew there would be things people wouldn't tell me, and I was okay with that. But this felt different. This didn't feel like something classified or something that it would be better not to know. This felt like something Zach was scared or simply wrong not to tell me.

I shook my head. I understood what Zach did, but I didn't. I wanted to tell him it was okay- that I forgave him for not saying anything, but I couldn't. I needed time to process this; to figure out more about his sister and his past. I needed time to figure out if I still trusted Zach the same way. My head still felt tangled and slow. Glancing at the clock, I saw one of the reasons. It was past three am.

My friends must have felt the same as me because Macey stood up and said, "Well, I've had enough drama today, and being knocked out makes you tired even when it's not one of Coach Lisa's demonstrations. I'm going to bed."

Liz and Bex nodded and murmured their agreements. Liz packed up her computers and followed. Bex glanced at me and nodded before heading to the room we shared.

I sighed. Would anything ever be easy? I should have learned a long time ago to stop hoping they would be. Sleepily, I turned off the light and went to bed- after a quick bug sweep of course.

* * *

**Zach POV**

As soon as we opened the door, Grant stopped trashing the room and turned to face us. The room was a mess. Everything, from the beds and curtains, to the small vases of flowers that the room had was destroyed. I had underestimated how much anger my friend still had, how much he had suppressed.

Grant just stood and stared at me for a second that felt like an eternity, then he turned and started walking to the bedroom.

"Grant, wait."

He whipped around, eyes flashing. "What, Zach?" he snapped.

I paused. Even though I knew what I needed to do, that I needed to talk to my best friend, I had no idea what to say. Luckily, Jonas had an idea where to start.

"You never let go," my friend stated.

Grant blinked and stared at him for a second. "No. I never did. I'm not heartless like you two."

I sighed. So _that's _what it was about. "Grant we didn't know they were alive-"

"You didn't know because you didn't look!"

That made me snap. "I looked! I looked for weeks, and you were with me! You cannot say I never looked for my sister!"

"You gave up on her!" He narrowed his eyes ay me. "You never tried looking for her in the other ways you know. The ways we were trained. The ways you four were taught especially."

He made it sound so easy. As if the other way wasn't something I swore I would turn my back on. Something I vowed never to be. "No-"

"You don't want to admit you could have done more," he hissed.

"I wouldn't do that!" I snapped.

"Guys-"

Grant slammed his hand on the table that was in the middle of the room. "You could have done more! They were locked up because of you!"

"What happened to them wasn't my fault! They made their choices!"

"Guys-"

"And you made yours! You chose to leave them! You chose-"

"I chose what I needed to! Alyson could take care of herself! Cammie needed-"

"No. Cammie had people to take care of her! Who did Alyson have, Zach? Who did _Clara_ have? You left them!"

"I did what I had to do! They weren't helpless, Grant! They made their own choices too! This isn't all my fault. I had to-"

"You had to be the hero again. That's how you are. I don't know why you always have to be the hero! Even after the Circle was gone, you didn't look for them the way you needed to because heroes wouldn't do that would they, Zach? Not even to find them. Or was it they weren't good enough for you?-"

I growled. "Stop! You don't know anything!"

Grant raised his eyebrows. "Oh, _I_ don't know anything? Who was the one to help you, Zach? Who kept your secrets? Who lied for you? Who watched after your cousin and sister and Eva when you were gone- until they decided they weren't waiting on you to come back any longer! Don't you dare say I don't know anything, Goode."

He was glaring at me from across the table, but I felt as if he had slapped me. He was right. I couldn't say he didn't know anything. He was the one helped me. He and Jonas were the reason I wasn't dead by now.

I sighed and took a step back. "Okay. Grant, look. I shouldn't have said that-"

"You shouldn't have left-"

"Will you stop-"

"No! Because you're still acting like the hero! You think you didn't have to help just because your sister didn't go completely against the Circle like you did! It's not that simple as leaving everyone behind like you did, Zach! Some people care about who they leave behind-"

"Don't start-"

"Admit you made a mistake! Admit your sister needed you! She's not wrong for being mad! Sure she's always been a bit intense, but Ally isn't overreacting too much, Zach."

I stared at him. He didn't understand. Why didn't anyone see? I didn't hate Alyson. I've never hated Alyson. There were bigger reasons for leaving. Helping Cammie wasn't a mistake. I never meant to leave them forever. Some things I couldn't control. I had to keep Cammie safe. Why did no one understand I needed to leave for Cammie?

Grant wouldn't see. He never would listen when I tried to explain, even in the past. He would have done the same for Evelyn. I couldn't help think that's one of the reasons he wouldn't listen to me.

"Just because Evelyn left with Ally, doesn't make all of this my fault."

I hit a nerve. Grant wasn't fast enough to hide the flash in his eyes.

"Don't you dare-"

"GUYS!"

Grant and I looked up at Jonas. He was standing with his arms crossed at the end of the table. Jonas had never been intimidating, but the way he stood, the flash in his eyes behind his glasses, it made me want to stand attention like we were forced to every day at Blackthorne.

"Enough fighting. We have bigger problems."

Grant took a step back. "You're right," he muttered, but the way he stood with his shoulders tensed made me know he wasn't letting this go. I would have to be wary around my best friend until he cooled down.

I looked at Jonas. "What do we do?"

Jonas sighed and adjusted his glasses. He lost the authoritative tone, but it was obvious we were going to listen to him.

"I think it's best to talk to the girls in the morning. Then we wait to hear from Alyson." He looked at me. "Because we all know she's not staying away for long."

"Agreed," Grant said, looking at Jonas, pointedly ignoring me. Then he stepped back and walked to his room.

I sighed as I watched him go. "He's never going to forgive me, is he?"

"Give it time. He came around last time."

I sighed again. "Maybe." I shook my head. "Let's just go to sleep. You're right. ACE won't stay under long, and we need to be ready."

* * *

**Alyson POV  
**

_"Let's just go to sleep. You're right. ACE won't stay under long, and we need to be ready."_

I sighed and cut off the audio from the bug I had placed on my brother at Nightshade. He never did notice anything in the middle of his shoulder. Sure he made me promise no bugs, but I had planted that one before he asked. Not my fault he missed it.

I had recorded my brother and Grant's fight from the night before. We wanted to listen to it before we initiated the next phase.

"He still doesn't see what he did," Clara's small voice came from the small couch across the room. "He knows, but he doesn't _see_." She was hanging upside down like a little kid. I was relived when she woke up more present than she had been since I broke her out. I couldn't help suspect it was because of seeing the guys again.

She was right. Zach knew what he did. At least he thought he did. What he didn't do was actually _know_ what he did to us. He didn't realize how much he hurt them when he left, hurt mom, hurt our lives and chances of being safe... hurt me.

I inwardly scowled at myself. Why did this have to be so hard? This was supposed to be easy; this is what we do. Emotions are supposed to be nothing in our field. But that's what got us into this mess isn't it? Too many emotions. Getting attached. Depending on people and putting your entire trust in them. I never needed Zach. I was dumb enough to trick myself into thinking I did. He left, and I was thrown off because I was a fool for depending on him. Letting him convince me even in the slightest I needed him, when I didn't.

I had fooled myself into thinking he needed me too. That we could actually do things together. I saw the signs. I had been an idiot for not separating from him. I didn't need him. Not back then. Not this time.

I didn't need my brother.

My cousin continued in her soft voice, "Zach doesn't see, but Grant does."

Instinctively, I glanced at Eva, who was sitting Indian style, in the middle of the room, twirling a tiny dagger.

She looked up at me. "Don't give me that look!"

"What look?"

She rolled her eyes. "The 'poor girl' look. I chose to leave with you guys. Don't give me that look every time Grant's name is mentioned."

I was going to deny giving her the look, but there was a quiet mumble from across the room that I hoped Evelyn didn't hear. But we're assassins- we hear everything.

My friend's head snapped to look at Clara. "What did you just say?"

Clara laughed a little. Of course she didn't hear the threat in Eva's voice- or she did, and it didn't phase her in the slightest.

"I said, it seems someone's not over her breakup- Eep!" She cut herself off with a yelp as she pulled herself up, quicker than I thought possible, as the tiny dagger landed in the couch where her head had been.

"Evelyn!" I snapped.

"What? She moved," Eva shrugged.

I was about to snap at her again, but was cut off by a trilling laugh.

"See? She's still mad."

Evelyn looked ready to kill. I walked closer to her. She glanced at me, then stood up and turned to Clara. "I left Grant. I chose to run with you- to look after you." She shook her head and started walking away, towards the back door. "Besides, we weren't even together." Then she was gone.

Clara was still giggling.

I sighed and shook my head. "Let's just get ready to leave the note."

Clara looked up at me, eyes widened. "Oh! I want to do it!" She said as she hopped off the couch and practically skipped next to me. Even when she stood at my side, she was bouncing like a little kid during a sugar rush. "I want to deliver it! Can I? Can I be the one to deliver the note? Please please? I want to do it! Can I-"

I simply held out the slip of Evapopaper, and she stopped bouncing. Snatching it from my hand, she turned and read it quickly. It seemed to sober her up. Her eyes lost the sparkling glee and became softer again. I could practically feel her retreating back into herself. I sighed.

"Do you want me to come too?" I asked her.

She shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was almost a whisper. "I want to run."

I nodded, "Then run. We'll be watching."

She folded the paper quickly and looked at me, smiling. Just for a moment, I saw my cousin. I saw the girl I grew up with, the girl I trained with. The girl before the experiments, before she had to run and hide... before she was afraid.

She was there.

Then she was gone.

Clara's eyes went back to the wide dreamlike state. Her smile became just a little too wide. She skipped to the door and started singing quietly. _"I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz-" _her voice trailed off as she skipped out of the door.

I sighed. She was still there. Buried under the surface, she was there. I only hoped one day she could come back to us completely.

Shaking my head, I turned and watched the screen of the laptop, tracking her progress until she made to the hotel to leave the note for my brother. I let myself forget my worry for Clara and smiled thinking of what would happen next. It was time for a game.

_Are you ready to play, Zachy?_

* * *

_ **So there it is... Are you ready to play?..  
**_

**Okay, so the IMPORTANT note.**

**I want to ask you guys something. Would you rather I update as soon as I finish writing my chapters (Approximately 1- 2 and a half weeks) , or would you rather I take a month and write non-stop to store up a few chapters, in order to update on a more steady pace.  
**

**Update as soon as chapter is finished? _Or._ Take one month to store up?**

**Tell me in the poll I'm putting on my profile. Majority wins, so don't blame me if you don't vote.**

**NOW for my reviewers!**

**Stronger-Than-Fear: **Well, another drought has passed... Ironic with the cold and snow... I'm back in the writing game so hopefully more to beta soon. I hope you noticed my clear thank you note up there. *pointed look and laugh*

**MonkeyGirl1425: **I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.**  
**

**Lanoon: **I'm sorry I've taken so long... I'm hoping to start updating more frequently... emphasis on hoping...**  
**

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: **I don't plan to stop writing any time soon. I hope you're not too mad for the wait... **  
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**Bookwormbullet: **Hooray! I updated. I hope you liked it.**  
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**Liela54352: **I'm glad the tension is visible! Thank you for reviewing!**  
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**Bookslover2000: **I'm always excited to see a new reader's reactions! Thank you for the reviews.**  
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**Guest: **Hmmmm... *evil smirk***  
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**Tk654: **I know I took a while, but I'm so very glad you like it!**  
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**Elle xx: **Here's more!**  
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**Petvet2b25: **Well... there's always time to find out...**  
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* * *

**Alright... So thank you for reading, and PLEASE vote...**

**Next is a game... Hmmm... whatever could that mean? Please leave a REVIEW and tell me what you think.**

**-S**


	16. Clear Mornings

**.oO Clear Mornings Oo.**

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**Cammie POV**

The next morning was strange, saying the least. I had hoped that things would be clearer after we all got some sleep, and they were- to an extent. The shock of hearing about Zach's past had worn off, and I was ready to talk to Zach without strangling him. But when I had time to think about the events of the night before, I realized how much there still must have been that Zach hadn't told us. There was still a lot I wanted to know. How much had he kept back?

I understood that I hadn't been in the best state to hear anymore than the basics the previous night, but after my mind calmed down, I wanted to know the details. Why was his sister so mad he left? What exactly did his sister do when he left? What did Zach himself do? How exactly were the other girls captured and locked up? What were the reasons and circumstances Zach left his sister under? Why didn't Alyson go with Zach when he left?

There was still so much to talk to Zach about. And who knew how much time we had until Alyson contacted again?

Of course, Zach had never been very open about his past before, but this felt like he was keeping things from me. I accepted the fact that we couldn't always talk about what we did considering our lifestyle, but this wasn't about work or national security. Zach and I had always been open with each other after the Circle was taken down. It was something I had grown used to. Even now, in the little time after I'd woken up I'd wanted to talk through this with him. I just wanted him to be open with me and tell me what happened between him and his sister. Was it wrong of me to want him to spill everything of his past?

There was also the possibility that Zach would tell me more when he was ready. Maybe he would start telling us more now that we knew the basics. We might just have to be patient. I needed to talk the girls so we could figure out what to do next.

When I left my room, dressed and ready, I found Macey and Liz talking in the kitchen area and Bex lying on the sofa.

My friends all looked at me as they heard the door open. They studied my movements as I walked to the fridge and got a glass of orange juice, like they were waiting for me to snap or crash or something. I sat on the counter and took a sip. They were still staring at me like I had just suggested we rob the Louvre.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair, then blew out a puff of air. "So is there a bomb on my back or something?" I asked. My question snapped my friends out of whatever trance they were in. Macey rolled her eyes; Bex stretched out on the sofa, and Liz went back to eating her cereal. The room went into an awkward silence for a few minutes. I found it ridiculous. What was wrong with them? They were acting weird.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Liz. "So based on the new information, what do we know?"

Liz slid a notebook across the small counter. "Well, after Zach's story last night I went through everything we know about the Circle, and everything matches- the time frame, the information about Catherine, I can't find a lie."

I nodded. Of course he wouldn't lie about something like this. No, he would rather not say anything at all. Looking at the notebook, I went through Liz's notes from the night before. We needed to figure out what to do about Zach. He had withheld important information; and he had a close relation to a potential enemy. According to our training, we were supposed to treat him like a threat and turn him in. But we all knew Zach wasn't a threat. He was just someone who had a lot of secrets and slow to let them out. If we made him feel like he was being treated like the enemy to get more details, it meant becoming all business with him. Distance. Manipulation. Interrogation. Personal or not. That wasn't what I wanted to do or what we needed to do, but it was what we were trained to do. But that was in the state of national security. This was not a matter of the Agency. This whole thing was about me and Zach.

I continued looking through the notes for a few minutes, until Bex's voice cut through my concentration.

"So we know who his sister is, and we know why she and her merry band of psychos are messing with us," she said, sitting up. "What we don't know is what the bloody hell she plans on doing."

Macey nodded. "I say we interrogate Goode and get every bit of info we can."

I inwardly winced. Zach wasn't a subject- well he was, but he wasn't guilty of anything but keeping personal information from us- which he had every right to do, even if we didn't like it. I reminded myself again that Joe had known about Zach's sister. I was sure there were other people who knew too, and there was no way Mr. Solomon would keep that information from anyone who needed to know if he believed it was a matter important enough. Of course I had come to the conclusion that Joe must have beleived Zach's sister to be dead; he wouldn't have kept quiet if he believed we were in danger. And really no one except me was. I could handle this however I wanted. There was no need to involve anyone else.

Zach's sister was not targeting anyone but me- attacking Bianca had only been an act to gain attention. There was no way Langley didn't know about Alyson, and Evelyn and Clara had been in Youngblood. Most likely Zach had requested the information would not be passed along to us. I was positive if Liz hacked her way into Langley's files that needed higher clearance levels to legally be accessed, she would find the info.

Even if she didn't, I didn't need to be a professional agent about this. The Circle of Caven had been taken down by us going under the radar and not involving the Agency. It had been a personal task.

ACE had attacked Bianca to get attention. Their real threats weren't to anyone but me. This wasn't a job for the CIA.

This was personal.

I tossed the notebook onto the counter. "No."

My friends looked up at me again.

"No?" Macey asked, incredulous.

"No. Zach doesn't deserve that. He believed his sister was dead. He hasn't done anything to be a threat, and he's not a random subject, Macey. It's Zach." It was Zach, my Zach. I knew Zach; I knew him better than most. It was Zach who annoyed me with the world's most insufferable smirk. Zach who didn't tell me who his mother was because he was scared it would change the way I saw him. Zach who held me when I killed a man without even remembering it. Zach who protected me and betrayed his whole upbringing to help me.

"We all know Zach wouldn't do anything to endanger anyone," Liz agreed.

"Besides leaving his sister to the mercy of the Circle, which he just admitted to doing."

"Oh please, Macey, you saw them. They were anything but helpless. Zach even said they were assassins _for_ the Circle," Bex said.

I nodded. That's another thing I had given a lot of thought the night before. It was Zach who thought his sister was dead and hadn't told me about her because he knew he left them. After going over everything that had happened the night before- even days before, I realized something that had made my anger all but disappear. Zach must have blamed himself for their deaths when he thought they were dead. Getting into his mind, I guessed that he had felt guilty for leaving them, then to think that they were dead must have been terrible. If I really considered reasons Zach wouldn't have told me about all of this, I could honestly say I could understand why he kept quiet.

I could understand. I wouldn't be mad at Zach. I wouldn't overreact. Zach would talk to me when he was ready. I had to trust him to do that. But I also needed assurance he had my back- and that he would tell me anything I needed to know.

Getting up from the counter, I pulled my hair into a sloppy ponytail as I walked to the door. "We're going to go talk to the guys; we're not going to attack or interrogate them, and we're going to handle this like we normally would- working with them as a _team_," I said. My friends looked at me. All we had to do then was find out what ACE's next move was going to be. We had to talk to the guys again, but this time I wanted assurance we would talk to one another before the skeletons in our closet came out to haunt us. No more hiding things. I wanted- I needed my Zach back.

* * *

**Zach POV**

"Zachery Goode, you are under arrest for threats to national security."

The lamp made a quiet thud as it hit the carpet. I tensed, then rolled my eyes. "Ha ha, very funny," I muttered as I bent to pick up the lamp I knocked over. Jonas and I had been waiting for the girls since we woke up, and to say I was tense was an understatement. I needed to know what Cammie wanted to do. Not telling her about my mother was a risky move when we were younger. She hadn't even wanted to see me for a while. What was she thinking now that she had heard my full story? Would she still trust me? Would she hate me? I needed to know what she was thinking.

That's why I may have been watching the door a _bit_ excessively. The morning was spent mostly by me pacing and trying to figure out what Cammie- and Alyson- were going to do next. Grant was avoiding me and brooding in his room; Jonas had been doing something on the laptop, trying to talk to me. After a while, Jonas had resorted to annoying me to try to take my mind off of everything.

While I appreciated his efforts, I didn't appreciate the mocking.

Jonas had already tried to get me to calm down, but I couldn't. How could anyone expect me to be calm? Not only had I found my sister, cousin, and best friend after thinking they were dead, but I learned they wanted to kill my girlfriend.

If she still was my girlfriend. Cammie still hadn't talked to me since last night. I was getting jumpy. What was she going to want to do?

Of course there was another girl to worry about too, but I couldn't even bring myself to deal with the emotions that not only seeing my sister, but reliving my abandoning them, and hearing Grant yell the truth in my face had brought to the surface. I say truth because that's what it was- maybe not all of it, and maybe I never saw it when I was younger, but there was truth in Grant's accusations. I had left my sister. I had left them with the Circle for Cammie, and now I see how selfish it was- even if Alyson had been insistent on staying. Leaving them, then acting like they they were dead when I knew the possibility they weren't was there was wrong. But If they were dead, I wouldn't have had to face the guilt so much. I could say it was all her fault because she chose to stay and no one would be there to say otherwise.

I, unlike my sister, had never wanted to be in the Circle- I didn't want to be like my mother; and I was willing to leave Alyson, Clara, and Evelyn to be free of them and her. What kind of brother does that? Then again, what kind of sister tells he brother she doesn't need him for years then gets mad when he leaves? Or what kind of girl knows their brother wants to leave, helps him sneak out, knows he may not come back but insists on staying behind, then claims he abandoned her?

My and Alyson's lives were anything but normal, and our relationship had never been simple. It wasn't all any one person's fault. But that didn't really matter now- ACE on a mission was a dangerous thing; I had to find Ally before she did something extreme.

I needed to know what Cammie and Alyson were thinking, and yet neither girl was making any contact. I wished they would do something.

Be careful what you wish for.

As I paced around the room again, the door swung open with a bang. Jonas' laptop crashed to the ground as he jumped about a foot in the air.

"Alright, _Zachary-_" A voice started.

"Bex, stop. Was that really necessary?"

I turned around to see the girls. Bex had evidently kicked the door open, and the others were rolling their eyes. They walked in, and I watched, frozen, as Cammie stood in front of me.

She looked serious. Her posture was professional, and her eyes and tone made it clear she was in business mode. "Zach, I'm sick of guessing games," she said. Before I could respond, she continued, "From now on, if we ask each other a question we either answer, or we give an adequate reason for not answering. I'm pretty sure we're all tired of walking around wondering what the other person is thinking- correct?"

I nodded slowly.

There was a pause in which Cammie sighed, and her tense shoulders relaxed. She melted back into her normal posture. After a moment I realized I was staring at her and wringing my hands like a schoolboy. Shaking my hands out I glanced at Cam again.

"Cammie, I'm sorry I never told you about-."

I cut off as when she took a quick step closer to me. I expected to be yelled at, or ignored, or slapped, or anything her leaning closer and kissing me.

It was quick, and she stepped back as soon as it was over; and I just stood there for a minute staring at her like an idiot. (Which is _so_ not like me, but hey, I was out of it those few days.)

When I did snap out of it, I think I just nodded and made a cool, collected comment like, "Oh um..." Then after a few seconds I got my head back and smirked.

Cammie rolled her eyes. "I figure it's hard holding that load of secrets; and even harder to put it down. But do me a favor and try? I want to be able to talk to you again."

I nodded again, feeling a weight lift from my chest. Cammie and I were still okay. The relief was amazing, and I was so happy I forgot everything else for a second and kissed Cammie again. This one was sweeter and happier- for the few seconds before Macey coughed into her fist.

"Crazy sister on the loose."

Sighing, I stepped away from Cammie and looked to her friends, getting back into business mode. Jonas and Liz seemed to be talking about something over the laptop. Bex had helped herself to the fridge and was eating an apple, and Macey was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, watching us. Of course Grant still hadn't come out of his room. He was being ridiculous, but if he wanted to stay in his room all day like a child, I wasn't going to stop him.

Looking to Cammie, I gestured for her to take the lead.

She nodded. "We still trust you. I don't believe you would do anything to betray that. What we need to do is track down your sister before she hurts someone."

I let out a breath. "Okay then," I said, looking to the others. "Knowing my sister, she has her next move planned out. Actually, she probably has an entire plan for the next few days- not that we're going to let her play out her fantasies."

Jonas nodded. "Alyson has always had a knack for getting her point across in the most dramatic way possible. Evelyn too."

Macey rolled her eyes. "I noticed."

Cammie started pacing like I had been doing all morning. "So how do we find her before she starts 'phase two' of this plan of hers?"

I shook my head. "That part I still have no idea about. Though I'm sure we won't be the ones making the fist move."

Jonas sat up. "Zach?"

"Yeah?"

He nodded to the door to Grant's room. "Shouldn't we get..." he trailed off. There was a knock at the door. We all looked up; it was probably the maids or something. Macey went to check.

Tuning back to Jonas, I muttered, "Fine. I'm not getting him though."

Jonas nodded and went to get Grant.

"Cam, Zach, you guys should see this," Macey called from the door.

Cammie and I shared a glance and went to see what Macey was talking about. She held out a small piece of paper to me. Taking it, I saw that it was a note written in elegant, curly cursive.

_You should see the view._

I would know Clara's handwriting anywhere. I passed the paper to Cammie, and started walking to the window. I knew for a fact the view our room had was one of the worst in the hotel. It was half covered by a large sign for the city zoo- the same one ACE had raided to send us a note. As I pulled back the curtain, I saw the normal snake from the reptile house ad- right next to the other note taped to the window from the outside, written in Alyson's wavy half-cursive.

_Had enough time to talk, Zachy? __Good.  
Now it's time for the fun.  
We think since_ _you gave up last time, and we won our turn,  
it's the least you can do to play just one more round of hide and seek.  
What do you say? Oh, wait- you don't have a choice. Game starts at 14:00 hrs.  
You're it._

The others read over my shoulder. I turned to see their reactions. Macey was pacing. Liz seemed to be analyzing the entire note and the one Clara wrote. Bex was looking down, probably trying to see where Clara could have climbed to put the note there. I didn't give it much thought; I knew what Clara was capable of. She put the best acrobats, climbers, and hiders to shame.

I turned to see what Cammie was doing and found her going over the note again. She turned to me. "What does hide and seek mean to you?"

"It was Ally and my favorite game growing up. It was also our favorite training exercise. She's most likely testing if I can still find her if I try; since I gave up when the Circle fell." It felt strange saying it, but it was true. I had looked for her, but not as much as I could have. Then again, she could have come out or told me she was alive, or she could have at least given a hint. She could have told me to meet her- to help her. But _no_\- she still has to be so independent- and stubborn.

Cammie looked like she was going to say something, but Jonas came running out of Grant's room. I had almost forgotten he was supposed to be getting him.

"Grant's gone!"

"What?" Everyone turned to him.

Jonas shook his head. "The water was running so I thought he was in the shower, but then I tried calling him and got no response. So I checked, and he's gone. He left the water running and ditched us!"

I groaned. Great. That's just what we needed. I didn't have time to mess with Grant at the moment.

"Any idea where he went?" Cam asked.

I shrugged. "Most likely he's just avoiding me. We've never seen eye to eye about the ACE situation. He'll probably just tail us as soon as we leave. Let's just focus on the note."

We caught Jonas up on what happened. After a few minutes, Macey asked, "They gave us the time, but where are we supposed to look?"

I glanced at Jonas as we both said, "The zoo."

Our quick statement was met with confused stares.

"The note was placed right next to the zoo sign- placement is never a coincidence with ACE, plus the zoo used to be the girl's favorite place to train," Jonas explained.

The others nodded.

"Okay, so what now?" Liz asked.

"Now, we go to the zoo and play hide and seek at two pm. We find my sister and take care of her before she does something crazy," I told her. Everyone nodded and started getting ready.

Cammie caught my attention. She was looking at me with a question in her eyes- _was I okay?_ I nodded. I was more okay than I had been in weeks. My conscience was lighter now that I wasn't keeping things from Cammie, I didn't have to worry about what anyone was thinking anymore, and I had the people I trusted most with me.

I was ready to find my sister.

* * *

**.  
**

**.**

**February. That's the last time I updated... February. Are any of you still there?**

**Honestly to me it didn't seem that long... (Though to anyone who would actually look forward to reading my amateur writing it may seem long.) **

**I don't really have an excuse to give other than I have things to focus on more than fanfiction in my life... But I **** am ****absolutely not stopping writing this fic until it's complete. **

**I'm so happy you guys- those of you still there and not furious at me for not updating- like my story, (whose characters, setting, and all rights belong to Ally Carter.)  
**

**Any of you see I changed my username? I am now, _Magic-of-writing._ I also have redone my profile bio... I actually change it a lot if you care. I put updates on what I'm working on and what I'm planning. **

**Now to my awesome- and patient reviewers...**

* * *

**PLLandGG:** I am glad you like it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

**Stronger-than-fear: **Hope you liked it.

**Bookwormbullet: **Well it seems Grant is going who knows where. I'm glad you enjoy this story.

**Sparkles250711: **I hope it was worth the wait!

**Bookslover2000:** I'm sorry you had to wait so long this time. Hope you enjoyed it.

**I am hylla daughter of bellona: **I hope you liked this and it was worth the wait this time.

**Lanoon: **See, I'm sure you survived. Now just do whatever you were doing until the next update.

**Guest: **I just did!

**Libi1997:** Oh my goodness, really?! I've always wanted to be a writer that kept the reader up at night!

* * *

**Okay, so that's it for this chapter... Oh wait! I need to ask you guys a favor. **

**So, I have different songs in my head for certain characters, scenes, vibes from the chapter, etc... and I was going to start putting some lyrics at the top of each chapter... Anyway the question is- **

**Do you guys know any songs/lyrics that remind you of the characters, feelings, or events in the story? I would love to check it out!**

**Okay, that's all for now... **

**\- _S_**


	17. Let the Games Begin

**.O Let the Games Begin O. **

**Alyson POV**

"What is he doing here?" I demanded.

Clara shrugged and walked to the little hut where the zoo worker was selling bird food. We were in the 'feed the birds' gazebo. Dozens of multicolored, feathered aves were flapping, squawking, and pecking all around Clara, me, and the unexpected male standing in the middle of the gazebo.

"Aw, come on, Ally, you're not happy to see me?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Where's my brother, Newman?"

Grant crossed his arms. "I don't know, and I really don't care at the moment."

"Not the answer I want at the moment."

He snorted. "Fine. Last time I saw him, I was yelling at him for not trying to find you." Grant shooed a bird away from his head. Around us, Clara had begun to chase birds everywhere, throwing the bird seed.

"Then why- and how- did you find us?" I asked, trying not to chuckle at my cousin.

Grant waved his arm around his head to get another little bird away from his ear. "The others were in the main room, discussing whatever they were going to do. I saw Clara climb up and stick a note to the window." He shrugged. "I simply followed her down and asked if I could go with her."

Typical.

I reminded myself that I couldn't get upset with Clara for letting an old friend tag along. It wouldn't get me anywhere. "So Zach has no idea where you are?"

"Nope." He seemed pretty pleased at that.

I thought it over. We had heard the fight, so I knew Grant wasn't lying about that. I had planned on him leaving Zach too, just not this soon. Though, Grant being with us would be more useful than him sticking with my brother any longer. I smirked. Already Zachy's world was becoming a battlefield. His best friend had just left him. Just like he had left me. This was perfect. My plan was working better than I thought. Now I just had to break that sweet couple dynamic he had going for him, and my first act of revenge would be complete. Zach would be alone. Then we could focus on his dear Cammie. I had unfinished business with that little- _whoa, _I reminded myself, _one game at a time. _I didn't need to get ahead of myself. Morgan still didn't know enough, and she still trusted Zachy too much. It wasn't little Cammie's turn to play yet, but it was coming soon.

"Alright, Grant, welcome back." I smiled.

"You're letting me stay? Just like that?" His eyebrows rose. Apparently he hadn't thought I would.

I shrugged. "Why not? Just don't get in my way of messing with my brother." I narrowed my eyes. "You start making problems for me, and your stay with us becomes less friendly." I sealed the threat with a sweet smile.

Grant was unfazed. He just rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I want Zach to learn a lesson as much as you do." A bird landed on his shoulder and started pecking at his ear. Before he could shoo it away, Clara quickly ran over with her cup of bird seed and preceded to toss it at the bird and, by extension, all over Grant. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up.

"Ew! Ow! Clara!"

"Grant?" A new voice called from behind me.

"Evelyn!"

Eva ran past me and stood a few feet from Grant to avoid the bird seed Clara was throwing. Though, it seemed she wanted to get closer. I rolled my eyes. '_We weren't even together_' my butt.

"What are you doing here?" Eva asked. There was a spark in her eyes that I rarely got to see. It was nice to know my best friend could still get excited about something that wasn't going to end in bloodshed. Grant made her happy- he was one of the only things that could make her happy, even if it was fleeting. I was always thrilled, if not a little disgusted at when they could work together when we were younger. It meant I didn't have to worry about Clara and Eva killing each other for a while.

Grant shrugged, shaking the seed out of his hair. "Oh, you know, I was in town and-" he was cut off by the swift punch to the gut Evelyn executed. "Ow! What was that for?"

I snorted, a smile working its way into my lips. "Do you really need to ask? There's always something to punch you for, remember?"

Grant groaned, rubbing his side. "Maybe I was a little crazy for missing you guys."

Evelyn grinned wickedly. "Too late. You're with us now."

I nodded. "Speaking of which, Grant, I have a job for you."

He looked up at me, a spark in his eyes. "Anything."

* * *

**Cammie POV**

At one forty-five, Zach, Bex and I were at the front gate of the city zoo. It seemed strange to think less than forty-eight hours ago the girls and I were tailing Zach and the guys, trying to figure out what they knew. Now, we knew more than we had ever imagined.

"Why don't we just go in now?" Bex asked, tapping her foot.

Zach shook his head. "They said two. Trust me, we want to follow their instructions at this point in the game."

I touched his arm. "You keep talking about 'the game', do you mean the 'hide and seek' or something else?"

Zach looked around, like he was making sure we were alone. I noticed he was biting his lip; I had never seen him do that before. "Alyson has been known to have a bit of a, um, intense sense of humor."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I mean, this is all a game to her. This whole 'revenge' thing. She likes messing with people- mind games. That's why she left the messages and went after Bianca. She knew what would mess with me, and what would mess with you." He shook his head. "She's always been extreme."

I nodded. I'd had my share of mind games, and I really wasn't in the mood to play anymore. Then I remembered the strange flashes that I had two days ago. I hadn't given them much thought with everything else that had been going on, but now that I remembered them, I realized I probably should tell Zach about them. Seeing things was never good, and if his sister was a master of mind games, who knew what it meant. Then there was the fact she had said it was nice to see me _again,_ when we finally found her at Nightshade. Maybe she had just meant she had seen me when Zach would sneak out to see me- or when we went to Blackthorne. Maybe that was just a trick she was playing to get me to question things like this.

Either way, I needed to know what I had been seeing. Now that I thought about it, the experience reminded me of when I slowly gathered a few bits of the memories Catherine had stolen from me. Could they be memories? If they were memories, what was I remembering? How was I even supposed to know if they were memories? Was I blowing this entire thing out of proportion?

"That's-" My response was cut short by Macey's voice in our ears. She had been checking the perimeter, while Jonas and Liz set up the communications and cameras.

"Okay, folks, we have five minutes until two pm. Liz and Jonas have successfully hacked into the security system, and there doesn't seem to be anything out of place anywhere in the zoo."

We nodded. Then we remembered she was on the other side of the zoo.

"Alright. Thanks, Peacock. Meet us at the gift shop."

"Will do."

Just then, our watches beeped, indicating that it was now exactly two pm. My questions and thoughts about the visions could wait until after we found Alyson. I looked at Zach. His face was slipping into a firm mask of determination and apprehension.

"You ready?"

He nodded and turned to the entrance. I barely heard the soft whisper. "Let the games begin, Ally."

* * *

We decided to split up, much to Zach's disagreement. He wanted me to stay with him, but we could cover more ground separated. I could take care of myself. I didn't need a bodyguard, and maybe I didn't want to admit that there was a part of me that wanted to find and talk to Alyson before Zach found her.

Wandering around the zoo thirty minutes later, with my friends' voices in my ear, it almost felt like one of our CoveOps lessons. But one look at the tiger display reminded me this was not a lesson. I was not a student. This was real. The stakes were real. And the little, black haired girl holding a paper with my name written in bold, red letters on it, in front of the large, sleeping cat, was _very_ real.

I had two options. Wait and call for backup or move ahead and see what games Clara had in store.

Zach had always said I was reckless.

Clara didn't move as I made my way to her. She didn't even acknowledge me when I stepped into the open next to her. Scanning our surroundings, I looked for any sign of the other girls. Nothing. I bit my lip, wondering what I was supposed to do. There had to be a trick here somewhere. I cleared my throat. No response. Confused, I stepped closer to Zach's cousin. "Clara?"

Finally, she turned and looked at me, her expression almost startled, like she had barely realized I was there. She smiled. It was a little disturbing. The expression was so childlike, I almost felt the urge to smile back and give her a hug.

"Sorry, Cam, she retreated back to a kid earlier. Ally was disappointed; She had been doing so well." I whipped around to see the last person I expected at the time.

"Grant? What are you doing here?" He hadn't shown up at the hotel earlier, and we had checked to make sure he wasn't tailing us as we walked to the zoo. Where had he come from? Even more important. Why was he here? Jonas had said Zach and he had a fight after they left last night.

Grant smiled. Glancing around again, I was shocked to see that Clara had disappeared. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I took a step back and looked back at Grant. Something wasn't right.

"Grant," I made sure to keep my voice even, showing no discomfort, "where's Alyson?"

A shrug is all I got in response. Grant turned on his heal and walked away into the crowd. I bit my lip. I could see the bait for what it was. The question was, was I prepared to bite? Even if it was Grant, he had fought with Zach, then disappeared. Plus, this had trap written on it in neon letters; but it was also the only lead we had. I wanted to know more about Alyson. I wanted to know exactly why she was so mad. Why had she brought all of us into this if it was only meant for me and Zach? The more I thought of everything I had learned, the more questions I had. Maybe this was a way to end that vicious cycle.

"Chameleon? Status?" The voice in my ear was Zach's. I bit my lip for the who-knows-how-many-times that day. He was worried, that I understood, but I didn't need him fussing over me every minute of the day. I could handle myself.

"Cam?"

"The rest of that better be '-eleon'," I mused.

He wasn't biting. "Have you found anything?"

There it was. The moment of truth.

"No."

Or... the moment of lies.

Grant was already disappearing into the crowds of people. If I told anything to Zach, he would demand for me to wait; then the opportunity would be gone. I couldn't waste time, so I didn't; I simply turned and did what I did best.

I disappeared.

* * *

Following Grant led me across the west side of the zoo, through two different shops, and finally... behind the restricted section of the reptile and insect house.

Big surprise.

It was strange seeing the 'behind the scenes' of the zoo displays. I had expected it to be full of animal foods or other materials to care for the strange creatures in the displays. Instead, I found myself wandering spotless hallways, lined with a few steel drawers and a door every fifty feet or so. The florescent lighting against the jungle wallpaper and steel made for an interesting sight, and I wasn't sure how people worked in this place without getting a headache like the one that was beginning to blossom behind my eyes. Speaking of which, I hadn't seen any workers, but I couldn't jump to conclusions about that.

By now, of course I knew that Grant was aware to the fact I was twenty feet behind him. I wasn't worried. Grant's actions might have had me on high guard, but I knew he wouldn't hurt me. The girls he was probably leading me to however, I wasn't so sure about.

After a while of wandering the maze of hallways, Grant finally turned and opened a door. He looked at me and smiled. "Ladies first." He swept his arm towards the door dramatically. I paused.

Now, I wasn't daunted by the prospect of walking into the room, even though I had no idea what waited for me inside. No, I was however, daunted a little by the soft voice that floated through the open door towards me.

"- but that wouldn't be as fun. I want to let the game last longer than that. It's much more fun to watch them squirm."

I hesitated, glancing between Grant and the door, mentally kicking myself for doing so.

"I promise she won't bite... this time." Grant's voice was amused, but the way he stood implied he wasn't above forcing me inside the room. What exactly was his motive of doing this? Now wasn't a good time to wonder if I should have told Zach and the others where I was going. It also was a bad time to realize my comms was filled with nothing but static. How had I let that go unnoticed?

Squaring my shoulders, I walked inside the room. It was small. There were more drawers lining the walls, and a metal table against the left wall. A counter towards the back of the room had a few random tools like a magnifying glass, a small knife, and some bottles. The flowery garden wallpaper didn't make the place seem any less like a lab. I wondered what this room was used for.

Grant closed the door behind us. The two girls talking didn't look up. Evelyn was leaning against the right wall between two shelves, so all I could see of her was her boots and hands that were currently twirling a knife. Alyson was sitting on the table on the left side of the room leaning back on one arm and waving the other as she explained why she thought letting whatever game she was playing last longer was so much fun. I didn't know what to do. Grant was just smirking next to me as the girls talked.

"You see? She's much more uncomfortable the longer we talk." Alyson grinned.

"But I don't see why we need to do anything extra if she's already out of wit."

I think my headache slowed my brain, at least that's my excuse for why it took me so long to realize they were talking about playing with _my_ head.

"Her wit is perfectly in tact, thank you very much." Or at least I could pretend it was.

Alyson finally looked up at me, grinning. "She speaks!"

There were two snorts, one from behind me, the other against the wall. Eva pushed off the wall and strode to Grant, a look of boredom on her features. "I don't think I can take a fake happy Alyson right now," she sighed. "Help me pick some pockets?"

"Do I have a choice?" Grant's voice was flat, but there was a gleam in his eyes that told me he was amused by the blonde girl holding the tip of her blade against his chest.

"Do you want one?" She countered, tilting her head.

"Touche."

Then they were gone, and I was left alone with Zach's sister, who may or may not want to kill me, and my comms was down.

Fantastic.

I turned back to Alyson. She looked so normal, it was disturbing. There was nothing special about her black t-shirt and dark jeans or sneakers. Nothing notable about her hair that was pulled into a pony tail, besides its bright red color. Though I did note the fact she was still wearing gloves. Sleek, tight, black gloves. They went a little past her wrist. I tried to imagine why someone would wear gloves like that, besides for a fashion statement which I doubted was the reason.

Zach's sister hopped from the table and smirked. "Care to take a seat, Cameron?" Her face was smiling, but her voice told me there was only so long she could keep up the happy girl charade. Already her eyes were slipping into a rage I could tell she was fighting to keep in check. That was when I noticed the knife sticking out of her boot.

Why had I thought this was a good idea?

"You know, it's rude not to answer someone when they ask you something. Or did they not teach you that at your genius spy school?" She asked as she leaned back against the wall opposite of the table, using her left arm to support herself.

Taking a deep- but not obvious- breath, I shrugged, deciding not to let any games she wanted to play get to me. I walked over and leaned against the table, making sure I was always facing the red-head. "How long ago did you hurt your arm?"

Alyson blinked. I took pride of the fact I had caught her off guard, even if it was only a simple question.

"Excuse me?"

"Your right arm- or wrist if you want to be specific- how long ago did you injure it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Morgan."

I smiled. "You used your left arm when you leaned against the wall, even though the right would be more practical, and when you were sitting on this table, you were leaning on your left arm even though your right handed."

If looks could kill, I would have been six feet under. Of course that didn't stop me from digging my own grave deeper.

Alyson glared as I leaned forward ever so slightly and smirked. "That's what they taught me at my genius spy school." I knew I wasn't there to get my self killed, but I couldn't help the need to prove I wasn't someone Alyson could just play with. Whether I was proving it to Alyson or myself, I wasn't sure. Either way, I knew I was playing a dangerous game. I only hoped Zach's sister didn't have a better hand than me.

It took a few seconds, but Alyson's eyes lost their murderous fire and became green ice. The rest of her features, however, became controlled and emotionless. She was fighting to gain control again. Holding out her right hand, she shrugged. "I broke it over a year ago. It doesn't bother me much anymore, only if I put a lot of pressure on it. I've gotten into the habit of using my left arm." She looked up at me and tilted her head slightly. "It's funny you ask that, Cameron."

I knew there was only so long this could continue. Soon, either I would ask about Zach- which I desperately wanted to do- or she would snap. Or maybe she would snap when I asked about Zach. Either way, I wanted to keep her talking and get to know as much about her as possible until one of those things took place. Continuing the civil act, I raised my eyebrows. "Why's that, Alyson?"

Her emotionless mask slipped, revealing controlled anger, resentment, and a smug smirk. "Because you're the one who broke it."

My brain went into overdrive. I was the one who broke it? How could I have broken it? She was lying. She had to be. I said as much to the smirking girl across from me.

Her smirk only widened into a wicked grin. "Oh, no, I'm not lying, Cameron." She shrugged. "Of course, how would you know? You don't remember meeting me in Rome, do you?"

.oOo.

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***ducks for cover*  
**

***Peeks out***

**Hehe... I would say sorry for the cliffy... but I'm not... :P**

**So, I got this out earlier than I expected! *happy dance* **

**TO MY AMAZING REVIEWERS:**

**PLLandGG: **There is Grant! but what is he doing? Hmmm... and it's okay, I review without logging in all the time. Haha.

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona:** I'm glad you understand! Also... is it bad that I've read the entire Percy Jackson and HoO series and just now realized what your name is? Haha... I've even written Pjo fics...

**Bookwormbullet: **Your reviews are always so nice! I love reading them! I'm glad you like my new name! I hope you're not upset it took me so long to review on Chameleon...

**Guest: **Sorry, I've been taking so long! I'm trying to get faster, I promise!

**Lanoon: **I solemnly swear I will (try my best) not take an entire two months to update. I hope you liked this chapter!

**BooksLover2000:** YES! THAT SONG WAS PERFECT! Any chance you have any other suggestions? I have this playlist I listen to while I'm writing. I hope you liked this chapter.

**RedPanda31: **Hehe... You may be on to something... We'll have to wait and see...

**RosieAlsides: **I got it up early! Also, you should check out, "When Covers become Realities" by Stronger-than-fear, and "Chameleon" by Bookwormbullet.

**...**

**Okay, hopefully I'll update next week. Don't forget to review song suggestions for my Revenge is Deadly playlist!**


	18. Heroes and Villains

**.o Heroes and Villains o.**

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**Cammie POV**

It sounded like a gunshot had gone off, though that was probably me knocking my leg on the table. I wasn't aware my arms had slipped from under me until I was stumbling to keep my balance. It felt like someone had hit me over the head.

_Rome. _I had met Alyson in Rome. She saw me in Rome almost two years ago. My head was spinning. What had happened while I was with her? How long was I with her? Was she part of the Circle when they caught me? _What did she remember about that summer that I didn't? _

It took me a few seconds to register the fact that Alyson was chuckling. It took another few seconds to realize I was on my knees, one hand on the floor and one on the table holding supporting my body. Pulling myself up, I tried to get control of my emotions and expressions. It was hard to focus with the static and ringing in my ears. My comms was still down. Glaring at the girl across from me, I pulled myself up and sat on the table.

_Brick walls. Blood covered knife. A puddle of blood at my feet._

The images came and left without warning. The pain however, lingered and added to my already existing headache. I shook my head. This was bad. There was a feeling in my gut telling me that I needed to get out of there. _Fast._

"What's wrong, Cammie? The memories too painful? Are you remembering or did Dr. Steve do too well of a job covering our tracks?" Alyson's tone was cold and mocking. She took a step towards me, a sick smile on her face. "I'm shocked you didn't know we were in Rome. Though, knowing that Zachy never told you about us, it makes sense he wouldn't tell you that he saw us in the city."

I'm surprised my neck didn't pull a muscle from the speed my head whipped up.

Alyson raised her eyebrows. "What? Did you not know Brother Dearest was in Rome that summer? He found us when he was looking for you. Of course that was before _we_ found you. Oh, we had so much fun when we found you! But sadly Mom needed you more than we did- needed you _alive_ that is. Eva and I were ready to burn you at the stake right before she found out we had you."

I couldn't process anything Alyson was saying. The only thing that was continually pulsing through my head was Zach. Zach had seen them when he was in Rome. Zach had been in Rome that summer. He had never told me he was in Rome that summer. Where was I when he went to Rome? Why didn't he find me? How did his sister and her friends find me? What had they done to me? How many of my scars were given to me by them?

How many lies did I have to find through Alyson?

Why had I come here? I had wanted to know more about Alyson. Stupid. Answers about Alyson didn't seem important now. Now, I wanted to get out. Out of that room. Out of that zoo. I wanted Alyson's words out of my head. I wanted to run away from her as fast as I could; I wanted to find Zach- to do what, I wasn't sure yet; and I wanted to strangle his sister until she told me everything about that summer.

That last one sounded like a good option.

I lunged forwards, kicking Alyson's leg out from under her and grabbed her knife from her boot. In five seconds, I had Zach's sister pinned under my knee and her own knife at her throat. Leaning down until my face was inches from hers, I hissed, "What did you do to me?"

Was it probably the best for me never to know what happened to me that summer? Yes.

Did I care about what was best for me at all anymore? Hell no.

Maybe it was a Goode trait, but even with me holding a knife to her throat, Zach's sister managed to annoy the sweet little bunnies out of me. She grinned and raised one eyebrow. "Violent aren't we?" Her voice held the air of someone watching something entertaining.

I narrowed my eyes and pressed the knife against her pulse point.

"Ah, the old 'I mean business' tactic. You know, that would be scary, if I hadn't- one, had that trick used on me in situations you can't even imagine, and two, been absolutely certain that you can't bring yourself to do it." There was half mockery, half a challenge in her tone. She smirked, and I felt her relax under my hold.

Almost growling, I raised my eyebrows. "I've killed before. What makes you so certain that I won't?"

Her smile widened. "The fact you didn't just slash my throat, and the fact I'm the one who practically taught you to kill."

My grip faltered for a split second. Tightening it again, I put pressure on her wrists, which were under my right foot. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact you may be the one pinning me down here, Morgan, but I'm the one who's in control of this entire situation. Surely Zachy's warned you that I love games?"

"I don't see what that has to do with this situation."

Alyson smiled. "You will." She sighed- as much as she could with a blade at her throat. "This has been fun. Now let me go."

I snorted. "Hmm, no."

"Very well. I was hoping you wouldn't cause yourself more pain, but if you insist."

"What the heck are you talking abo-" I was cut off as the red head beneath me started singing, her voice familiar due to my nightmares.

"Above the plains, up on the hill, there stood a castle bold-"

_A brick room. Blood on the walls. Laughter _

"A gleaming palace made of white-"

_Spiders. A small dagger. A checkers board. _

"A pillar to behold. The horsemen lived in service to-"

_"-the castle and the crown."_

_"Will you stop that stupid song!" _

_"Shush, Eva! Our visitor deserves a lullaby. She's played very hard today."_

_"Alyson, if you don't stop singing that stupid song, I swear I'm going to-"_

_"You will do nothing." My eyes fluttered shut as the red haired girl leaned over me again. "Cammie has another game to play tomorrow, and we both know she needs all her strength. Now, where was I? Right... But the knights rose up and killed the kings, and it all burned down." _

The pain behind my eyes was almost blinding. My body was trembling. I pressed my palms to my eyes. It hurt too much. I could feel the cuts up my arms, the blood in my hair. It felt like I was going to throw up.

"What did you do to her!?" A furious voice yelled.

"When?" Came the amused response.

"I swear, Alyson, if you don't answer me-"

Where was I? Who was yelling? I was sitting with my back against something. Somebody was shaking my shoulder. There was a familiar voice in my ear.

"Cammie? Cam, come on, answer me," the voice demanded. The hand on my shoulder was starting to grip tighter.

Blinking against the light and pain, I opened my eyes to see Bex's face in front of mine. She looked worried. When I opened my eyes, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness." She looked over her shoulder. "Zach, she's up."

I glanced around, and the memory of where I was and what I was doing hit me like a brick. Straightening up, I looked around the room quickly. Alyson was on the floor, pinned down by Zach. Bex was helping me up. Macey was behind Zach, gun trained on the red head on the floor.

"Where did you guys come from?"

Bex shook her head. "Lizzie tracked the last place your comms signal came from when you didn't answer us for ten minutes. She stayed there to monitor things while we followed the trail. The signal led us here, and we find you cowering in the corner with this psycho hovering above you! Why the bloody hell didn't you tell us where you were going?" My friend cried.

"Gallagher Girl, what were you thinking?" Zach yelled at me, still holding his sister down.

I looked at him. "I wanted answers."

"Answers about what? I promised I would tell you anything!"

"I'm not sure how much I believe that anymore." Now wasn't the time to yell at him, but the anger was still churning in my gut, bubbling like a volcano.

Zach turned to me, disbelief in his eyes. "What are you talking ab-"

"She was in Rome, Zach!" Everyone froze. I was shocked at the volume of my own voice. Zach's sister was staring at me with a smug grin on her face. "She was in Rome, and you saw her. You knew your sister had been in Rome, and you didn't tell me!"

I watched the confusion fade from Zach's features and melt into a mix of shock, hurt, anger, and guilt. "Gallagher Gir-"

"Well, as much as I hate to break up this drama fest," a new voice drawled out through the small room, "I think you guys might want to let my best friend go." We all turned to Evelyn standing in the doorway- holding a gun to Liz's temple.

The shift in the room was so fast, my friends' movements blurred to my headache sensitive sight. Bex had a gun I never saw her take out trained on Evelyn in less than two seconds; Zach repositioned and tightened his grip on Alyson, and Macey moved her gun's aim to the person next to Evelyn in the doorway- who was also aiming a gun.

"Grant? _This_ is why you ran away? To_ join them_?" Zach growled.

Grant shrugged, keeping his gun pointed at Macey. "I'm tired of your hero complex." He gestured to Liz, then Alyson. "Trade ya'." This didn't make sense. Since when was Grant one of them? He was never in the Circle. I thought he and Zach were best friends. Why was he acting as if he hated him? He wouldn't actually hurt any of us...Right?

"You okay, Liz?" Macey asked.

I was frozen as I watched my smallest friend give the tiniest of nods. Normally holding a Gallagher Girl at gunpoint in that position would be more dangerous for the attacker than the Girl; but this was Liz, the girl who tripped on the brick path on our way inside and scraped her arm on the zoo sign. My stomach twisted as I realized how bad this could end.

Bex shook her head. "What are you doing, Grant?" Out of the four of us, Bex had been the closest to Grant; Macey and I even had a bet going about how long it was going to take for them to start going out. It looked as if that wasn't going to happen very soon. A flash of anger ran through me. Would any of these Blackthorne boys be honest with us? Was there anyone we could trust? I watched as Bex's brow creased as she tried to understand the way Grant stood flanking the blonde who was holding a gun to our friend's head. "What's going on? Why did you leave-"

"Leave _you_?" Evelyn quipped.

"Leave _us,_ to join _her?_" Bex snapped, glaring at Evelyn. "Why do this? Zach's you're best friend!"

Grant shook his head. "You don't understand, Bex-"

"Don't understand what? That you're a bloody traitor?"

There was a flare in Grant's eyes I'd never seen before. The gun in his hands slipped from aiming at Macey and was pointed at Bex. "Don't you call me a traitor, Baxter! You don't know anything!" There was a moment I actually thought the gun would be fired, but Evelyn brushed her arm against his, and the muscles in Grant's arms visibly relaxed.

Bex scowled. "I thought you were better than this, Newman. We bloody trusted you!" she hissed.

Grant glared, nodding towards Zach. "And they trusted him."

"I thought-"

"You thought what exactly, Baxter?" Evelyn sneered, her voice bitter and mocking. "Did you think you actually knew him? You didn't grow up with him. You haven't been through anything! You don't know anything! None of you know anything!-"

"_Enough_, Eva." I glanced at Alyson. It was the first time she had spoken since Evelyn, Grant, and Liz had appeared. She looked perfectly calm, like she knew exactly what was going to happen-as if this was all part of the plan. I almost laughed as I realized _it was_. This was all part of her sick game for the day, and we- _I_ had played right into her hands. She was moving her pawns to ensure she maintained control, and it was still working.

Evelyn stopped her rant and narrowed her eyes. I felt helpless as I just watched the stare off between my friends and Alyson's, but there was nothing for me to do. My gun was across the floor, and even if I had it, there wouldn't be anything to do. If anyone fired, there would be either a death or a serious injury, and while I wasn't sure what the others were willing to sacrifice, I was in no position to pay that high a price.

"What's it going to be, Zach?" Evelyn challenged. "You know I can put a bullet in this girl's head without hesitation. How fast you think those girls can fire? Faster than a Viper and Cobra?"

There was a second in which the only thing heard was a string of Portuguese from Zach. The next instant, Zach tossed his smirking sister towards Evelyn. The blonde smiled and shoved Liz away from her body. Macey moved forwards to help our friend from falling.

Alyson straightened and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Thank you, Zachy." Evelyn smirked and held out the gun to the red head. Alyson took it, and Evelyn stepped back with Grant.

"What do you_ want_, Alyson?" Zach didn't look at his sister's face; his eyes were trained on the gun Evelyn had just handed her.

Zach's sister smiled a slow, wicked grin, but it was her eyes that were truly frightening; they held a cold rage and the slightest fracture of insanity. "To make you feel what I did the moment I realized that you had chosen her over me," she hissed, pointing the gun at me lazily. "I want you to know what we went through because you wanted to help the girl who ruined our lives before you even met her!" Alyson's voice cracked, and that seemed to make her even angrier. She shook her head and when she spoke, her voice was half growl, half scream. "You know what her family did! You know what happened to Laura! You know how they ruined everything for us, and yet you chose her!"

Zach shook his head. "That had nothing to do with them, Ally! Laura made her choices-"

"She chose to help _him_, and it ruined us! It ruined Mom! You knew who Cameron was the first day you met her, and you still chose her every time!"

"Because it was the right thing to do!"

"Because you were too selfish to stay with us! We needed help too, Zach!" They were face to face now, yelling at each other from a foot away.

"I had to help her take down the Circle!"

"Yeah, because you didn't care who was still _in_ the Circle's control at the time, did you?"

"Alyson, you know I tried to get you to leave!"

"And you know I wanted to save Mom!"

"She was insane!"

"She needed help!"

Zach shook his head. "I had to do the right thing."

"No, you had to be 'the good guy'!" Alyson growled.

"Because it was the right thing to do!"

"Because you had a stupid crush!"

"Because I love her!"

The shocked silence that followed that statement was one no one dared to break. Zach and Alyson stood, less than a foot away from each other, fuming. After a few heavy breaths, Alyson nodded slowly, her voice thick like someone trying their hardest to keep from crying. "Yeah, good to know you love _her."_ Alyson turned and looked at Evelyn. "Tell Clara we're ready." The blonde nodded and ran down the hall, Grant on her heels.

Zach reached out, "Ally, wait- I didn't mean-"

Alyson whipped around and, faster than I thought possible, smacked her brother across the face. "I. Don't. Care. Anymore," she hissed, though the tears in her eyes told a different story. "If you want to do the right thing and be the hero so much," she shrugged, her eyes cold as ice, "I'll let you be the hero."

"What does that mean?" Zach asked warily, taking a step back.

Alyson looked at the group of us, then back to Zach. A small smile creeping onto her face. When she spoke, her voice was small but it gave me chills. "Every hero needs a villain. Catch me if you can, Zachy." Then, before anyone could even process what she had just said, Alyson raised her gun and fired twice. The shots echoing in the small room like deadly cymbals.

Then the room went black.

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**Boom! A weekly update! I'm so proud of myself- not only about the update, also the fact I'm sure a few of you might be screaming. Oh, the joys of being a writer. **

**To the reviewers!**

**.**

**Bookwormbullet: **Ah, yes. What did happen in Rome? Also, it seems like Cammie's need for answers may get her a lot more trouble than she bargained for. How long do you think she'll last until she snaps? As always, love your reviews!

**Libi1997: **Yes, Dark Side is a wonderful song! I love Kelly Clarkson! Hopefully I have you hopping on one foot by now!

**I am Hylla daughter of Bellona: **Soon answers to your theories will be here, but first I have to set a few things up. There's so much more to come, and I can't wait for you to read it after I finish writing it!

**Stronger-than-fear: **And the excitement will continue!... as soon as I finish the next chapter.

**Dem Dam Books: **Long reviews and questions are never a bother to me. They actually help me know what is needed in the story! Go ahead and ask! It might even get you answers sooner than you think. Also to your question about Grant and Bex: As pointed out in this chapter, Grant and Bex were close, but not together. I decided to add some drama there when I realized Ally Carter never confirmed their relationship.

**Lettuce: **Thank you for the review! I'm sorry, I absolutely love cliffhangers. I hope the beginning of this chapter answered your question about Ally and Catherine. If not, future chapters will.

**Bookslover2000: **Again, another great song! Thank you!

**.**

**Alright guys, that's it for this chapter. Please review and suggest songs for the Revenge is Deadly playlist. I will begin adding lyrics to older chapters as I go back and edit them, (which I've already begun doing). **

**Peace!**

**\- _S_ **


	19. Recent Developments

**It's okay! I'm alive!... **

**Now go on and rant at me... Go on. Get it out of your system.**

**you done? Now read!**

* * *

**oO Recent Developments Oo**

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**Evelyn POV**

Running away from an opportunity to shoot someone was not something I wanted to be doing. I needed to make something bleed. Denying me something I needed was not a good idea. Of course, leaving Alyson alone in a room with her brother while there were guns involved was also a questionable act. I was starting to wonder exactly what our oh-so-fearless leader's plan actually was. If someone didn't get hurt soon, there wasn't going to be anything able to stop me from taking matters into my own hands. Regardless of Alyson's sketchy plot.

"Is Alyson okay?" Grant asked when we were out of hearing range. He kept a steady pace beside me as we ran through the maze of halls, fluorescent lighting making strange shadows against the angles in his face.

I contemplated his question. Was Alyson okay? My first response would be to scoff and say of course she's not okay. None of us were 'okay.' Okay people don't get betrayed by family, locked in asylums, and go on revenge missions.

But Grant knew that. If there was anyone who knew how un-okay we were, it was him. After all, Zach left him too. He was here, with me, running through a zoo lavatory, away from Zach and taking orders from an unhinged girl with a gun.

So why was he asking if Ally was okay?

Unsatisfied with my silence, Grant stopped running and grabbed my arm. "Eva." He dragged my name out so it sounded like three syllables instead of two.

I rolled my eyes, a safe response to buy me a few seconds before answering. The last thing I needed was Grant seeing that I didn't know how to answer his question. That I hadn't been watching Ally like I probably should have been.

Alyson hadn't been locked in Youngblood. That didn't mean she wouldn't have been if they'd caught her.

The past few days flew through my head like a movie. I thought about Ally's breakdown in the bathroom. The fact she kept hesitating to actually _do _something to her brother besides yelling at him. The way her eyes looked before we left her alone in that room with a gun. She was slipping, I couldn't deny noticing that. There was no way I was telling anyone though. If the rest of us had to deal with it and carry on, so did she.

"Alyson's fine," I told Grant.

After a second he narrowed his eyes, but then he blew out a breath. "You sure?"

I sent him a glare for asking. It would have been enough to make him shrink back and move on, had a gunshot not gone off.

Then a second one.

Our heads swiveled around. Above us, the lights flickered. Someone had fired.

Three guns. Two Goode's. One room. It didn't take a genius to guess there would be shots fired, but there was still the nagging questions in the air.

_Who fired the shots? Who was hit?_

I grabbed Grant's arm and resumed our run to the control room Clara was in. When he tried to hesitate, a quick smack got us moving at a better pace. If something crazy happened and Alyson wasn't the one firing, the best thing to do was keep moving. Zach would never kill his sister, despite leaving her to burn, abandoning us, and not looking for us. The Girls were too goody-goody to kill her.

Circle backup plan number one: if an operative get's caught, other members ensure completing the mission first, then securing the operative. No one get's left behind by any means. Until the mission's complete, the captured operative knows how to keep their mouth shut.

That lesson was running through my head on repeat as we turned another corner. We were nearly there when footsteps were heard behind us. A second later Alyson was next to us, gun still gripped in her slightly shaking hand. Her pace was faster than ours, and it took a few seconds for her to sync with us.

A knot I didn't know had formed relaxed in my gut. I mentally scowled at myself for being worried at all. There wasn't anything we couldn't handle, and since when was I worried Alyson wouldn't come back? Even if she was slipping.

"What are you two doing?" Her voice sounded forced, but it was definitely steady. Though she wasn't looking at us directly. "Never mind. Just move!" She pushed past us and bolted down the hall.

When we got to the room a minute later. Alyson and Clara were stuffing the wires and laptops into Clara's bag. The monitors lining the walls showed that the security footage was being erased from the memory, and a virus was being downloaded to cover our tracks.

Clara skipped in front of us. "We're almost ready to go!" She was practically giggling. It was ridiculous. I pushed past her to where Alyson was reloading the gun. Her eyes were cold and tinted red, like she'd been crying, but I couldn't see more than that.

She glared up at me. "There a reason you're studying me?"

I shrugged. "Who'd you shoot?"

"Doesn't matter," she muttered. That wasn't the answerI expected. I glanced back at her. Once I was looking for it, I noticed her hands were still shaking. There was also a slightly rigid look to her movements. Maybe she was closer to the edge than I thought. Why didn't I notice before?

_Because you didn't want to before._

I shook my head. It didn't matter. We were all messed up. There was no room for sympathy. No matter what the newest development was.

Grant stepped up behind us. "Ally, you didn't kill anyone, right?"

"So what if I did?" she snapped. "You're with us. It shouldn't matter what happens to them."

For a second, I thought Grant was going to yell at her, but all he did was stare at Ally for a minute. After a few tense moments, Clara laughed. "The virus is finished!" She then proceeded to twirl around the room like she was looking for something in the air.

I looked back at Alyson. Her eyes were hard again, and when she spoke, her voice was mechanical.

"Let's go. We're the bad guys now." She smiled slightly. "Every hero needs a damsel to save, and I know just who to put in distress."

* * *

**Cammie Pov **

The ringing in my ears was almost louder than the scream. Almost.

"She's hit!"

"Help me stop the bleeding!"

I blinked once. Twice. Then the situation came rushing back to me. Liz was next to me, fidgeting like she was trying to figure out what to do. The voices were Zach's and Bex's. Macey was on the floor, and she was yelling things about Alyson Goode in Swahili. My eyes stung. Glass was sprinkling down on us as the lights flickered like strobes. Alyson's second shot had been aimed at the lights, unlike the first. I knelt over my Macy and helped Bex hold her arm.

"We need to get her into the light."

It took exactly twenty-seven seconds for us to get everyone out of that room and into the hallway. When we laid Macey down again, she groaned in protest, but let us apply pressure again. Blood was spreading out around her shoulder in a dark red puddle. Bile rose in my throat. Liz hurried over and studied the wound while we tried to stop the bleeding.

"It's only a graze to her upper arm. She didn't hit her solid. It's not extremely serious."

"So she missed?" Bex asked.

"Missed? Would you like to switch places here, Baxter?" Macey growled.

Bex rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"She didn't want to shoot her solid. If she did, Macey would have a bullet in her arm." Zach looked down the hall. "She wanted to make sure we didn't run after her."

Macey pointed at us with her good arm. "What are you doing here then? Go!"

I shook my head. "We're not going anywhere." My voice came out raspy, and my throat felt like I'd swallowed nails. The flickering lights hadn't helped my headache.

There was the heavy pounding of footsteps down the hall. A second later Jonas came running towards us, breathing heavy.

"Jonas! Are you okay?" Liz cried. The boy nodded and looked at Zach.

"They're gone." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And the security systems are running again. The zoo knows we're here."

Zach glanced at Macey. We couldn't run with her arm bleeding like this. We were stuck. The lights flickered again, spiking the pain in my head. I ran my hand over my forehead.

"Gallagher Girl, you okay?"

Glancing at Zach, I didn't know what to feel. So many lies. So many sacrifices. Instead of answering, I turned to Liz. "What are the odds of us getting out of here with no one finding us?"

"A hundred and fourteen to one."

"Then what do we do?" Macey asked through her teeth.

"Simple. When caught in a situation where being found is unavoidable," Bex shrugged. "You let yourself be seen."

* * *

Twenty-two minutes later, the news ladies were reporting live in the city zoo which happened to be closed just two days ago because of dangerous animals on the loose. Today they were talking to the camera about the perplexing shooting in the restricted section behind the reptile house. The shooter was unknown, as was the cause, but the victim was a teenage girl, the only one shot among her four friends. All of whom were found in the back hallways by employees. The girl who was shot was unidentified, and her friends were in too much shock to answer any questions.

At least, that's what they thought.

Bex and I were able to stop the bleeding until we heard the footsteps and yells. We let go of Macey and let Zach take over while we portrayed the hysterical teenage girls that were expected of us. Bex loved being able to use her terrified American voice in an interview, and Liz and I made sure to confuse everyone who asked us questions. They eventually concluded that we were in too much shock to remember anything clearly. Liz had been given a bandage for a scrape she had managed to get on her arm, and I was given a pill to calm me down. I could tell the girl looking me over wanted to ask about the scars, but gladly she didn't.

One more lie I didn't have to tell.

Jonas was able to get out before we were mobbed. We decided to find him after we got back to the hotel. We were waiting for Zach and Bex to be interviewed and checked out when an ambulance siren rang out. Macey, who had been forced to sit and let someone wrap her arm, looked up at me, a bit of panic in her eyes. "Guys, I can't go to the hospital." She was right. We'd been able to confuse the people questioning us, and the cameras hadn't been allowed near us, otherwise it would be everywhere that Macey McHenry was involved in a shooting. We couldn't let the doctors get to Macey, or else there would be reporters and their conspiracy theories to deal with.

No way were we going to the hospital. Besides, Liz and I could treat Macey's wound better than any doctor. It was only a graze. All we needed to do was clean it, apply some of Dr. Fibbs' Skin Again cream and _voila_. Good as new in three to four days.

The ambulance pulled up in the parking lot.

Liz bit her thumbnail. "It's approximately two point three minutes until they arrive and load her. Do you want to run?"

It was a tempting idea, but there were too many people here. Too many eyes watching us. People would notice if we just disappeared. I was about to ask how long it would take to change Macey's appearance when a furious scream cut through the chaos.

"Let me through! I need to see her!"

Macey and I looked at each other, confused. We had to be hearing wrong. There was no way-

"I don't care who you are, you overgrown ape! Let me see my daughter!" A woman shoved her way past the policemen and threw herself towards Macey, her dark hair flying across her face. A dark haired man was following her, apologizing to the officer. Liz and I stepped back in shock, while the woman tilted Macey's head left and right, examining her. "My poor baby! Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Susan," the man huffed. "Let her breathe."

I didn't know what I was more surprised at. The fact Aunt Abby had just called a police officer an ape, or the fact my stepfather was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops. _Flip-flops_. I wanted to laugh.

Everyone around us watched the new arrivals with interest. Which, I realized, was exactly what the adults in front of us wanted. Joe wrapped an arm around me. "You okay, Charlotte?" I nodded. In front of us, Abby was still fussing over Macey.

Macey didn't miss a beat. She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Mom. Really."

"Are you sure? Where's your brother? Oh, I am going to strangle him!" Abby stood up and looked through the crowd of people, searching for Zach and Bex. I glanced at Joe. There was amusement in his eyes, but also a bit of worry and frustration. He winked and nodded towards the paramedics making their way towards us. I nodded. They had a way out. After a second, Zach and Bex walked up, only to have Abby pounce on them.

"You!" she barked, pointing at Zach. "Why didn't you look after your sister! I swear, I can't let you go anywhere!"

Zach rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Mom."

I moved to stand next to Bex and Liz, who were watching Abby with amusement. "Where'd they come from?" Bex whispered in French. I shrugged.

Five seconds later, paramedics we all around Macey. We all watched as Abby insisted she and Joe ride with 'their baby Chloe'. Joe beckoned the rest of us as they got on board. I could tell the driver didn't like so many people on his ambulance, but no one said anything as we started driving.

After we were out of sight of the zoo, Abby turned to the paramedic. "Excuse me, could you look at something?" The man nodded, and leaned closer. Abby grinned and promptly smacked him. The medic flinched back, eyes wide from shock. Then they rolled to the back of his head, and he slumped into Joe's waiting arms, a napotine patch on his cheek.

Abby grinned. "I love doing that."

Bex laughed, and the rest of us grinned. Joe put his finger to his lips and slipped to the front. In five seconds, the truck swerved, then, "All clear, Iris."

"Copy that, Wise Guy. Let's get Capricorn. Now," Abby turned to us, her smile still in place. "Would you lot like to explain exactly what you've been doing?" Her voice remained calm, but the look in her eyes told me she wanted to yell.

Before anyone could answer her, Joe called back, "Zach, did you find her?"

We all glanced at him. "Yes," he answered.

"What are you guys doing here?" Liz asked.

Abby shrugged. "You guys came here, then there was the thing with the spiders, multiple reports of minor robberies, and last night someone reported an assault involving two teenage girls. We figured we'd check on you. Plus Joe wanted to talk to you two." She pointed at me and Zach.

The truck jerked to a stop, and the passenger door opened. A second later, Townsend climbed into the seat beside Joe.

"Kids." He nodded in greeting, then tilted his head, "Zach."

Zach nodded. "Dad." I looked between them, then at Zach, a silent question in my eyes. Did Townsend know about Alyson?

A slight shake of his head was all Zach did. No.

After that we fell into a thick silence. No one said anything while we drove a block away from the hotel we were staying in. If Townsend thought it strange, he didn't show it. Within ten minutes we had sneaked our way to the guy's room. Jonas was there waiting for us. He raised his eyebrows at Abby, Joe and Townsend, but otherwise didn't show any surprise or question about it.

About fifteen minutes passed while Liz cleaned Macey's wound and bandaged it. Townsend went to checkout for us; Joe pulled Zach aside to talk, and Bex and I told Abby everything about the recent developments. Everything.

When we were done, Abby blew a puff of air out. "So, Zach's sister is plotting revenge on him, Grant has joined them, and somehow you've met these girls before."

Well, when she said it like that, it almost seemed simple. Almost.

Bex nodded. "Don't forget the fact she's a complete lunatic." Abby nodded.

"Do you think Zach will tell Edward?" she asked. I bit my lip. I honestly didn't know. It took him long enough to tell me. Now he had to tell his father that he had a daughter that was trying to kill us.

We shrugged. "I don't know. I hope he does." It felt good to talk to Abby. It added a bit of normality to this crazy situation.

"Alright, time to go." Townsend entered the room with a clap of his hands.

"Ow! Liz!"

"Oopsy daisy!"

We turned to see Macey holding a hand to her eye, while Liz scrambled to get the wet rag she was using. Somehow, Liz had managed to get the cream into Macey's eye. Joe and Zach returned just as the container of cream went flying. With a _plop_, it landed on Townsend's shirt, blobs of pink smearing on the dark blue. One crazy blob was able to catch enough air to land in his hair.

We all burst out laughing.

It felt good to laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I did. There may have been a insane trio of girls, set on ruining me. I may not have trusted Zach, or even my own memory, but for that moment, while Townsend tried to rid his hair of cream, it didn't matter. For one wonderful minute we were just friends and family laughing.

If only it could have lasted.

* * *

**Alright... I'm really sorry for taking so long, but we have season passes to the waterpark, I'm writing my own novel, we went on vacation, and my family is visiting from out of state. I'm not apologizing for putting that first on my priority list. **

**I'm extremely sorry that I don't have the time to reply to everyone's reviews this time, but I'll do it next chapter. **

**ALSO I ADDED THE SECOND CHAPTER TO THE PREQUEL "REVENGE IS EARNED"**


	20. Imaginary and Waking Up

**Sorry for the wait guys, but at least this one wasn't as long. Any ways... THIS STORY IS OVER A YEAR OLD! **

**Also, I'm sixteen now. Woo! My summer is coming to a close, so that means a more steady schedule, which happily includes more writing time! I'll be working on this as well as my own novel and another project I can't name yet. (Also don't forget about the prequel of this story. The first two chapters are up.) **

**Okay to the story! This time, we a new POV! Enjoy!**

* * *

**_.o Imaginary and Waking Up o.  
_**

* * *

**Clara POV**

The building looked like a castle. I liked castles. Castles were fun. I used to live in a castle, before we started hiding. Hiding was not as fun, but I had my friends. We were not hiding now though. Now we were the ones looking. Looking, finding, running, and looking again. What were we looking for, again? Eva kept saying revenge, but why did we need revenge?

My breathing picked up. It felt heavy in my chest. I wondered if I was forgetting something. There was that small nagging feeling in my head again.

"Clara, you okay?" I turned to see Ally's silhouette against the lamplight. It was funny, seeing her like a shadow. I giggled and nodded.

There was a fairy floating above Ally's head. It fluttered down and sat on my shoulder. The nagging feeling went away. My lips curved into a frown. I liked the nagging; it almost felt like knocking- no, pulling. Yes, pulling. What was pulling? Why did the pulling stop?

Someone groaned. "This town is so- so weird." A small knife hit a box next to me. "I mean really, who lives somewhere like this?" Eva pointed out the window to the little houses below. From up here they seemed like movie sets.

Ally sighed, taking off her spy sunglasses, and turned to look at Eva. "People who don't know we're here and I would like to keep it that way, so if you don't mind, stop yelling." I smiled. Ally always had a comeback to Eva's questions. It was fun to hear them argue, though sometimes it wasn't. Sometimes it was loud and dangerous.

I shook my head, and the fairy on my shoulder flew off, sending sparkling dust everywhere. It floated around the room, over the boxes and through the beams across the ceiling. Then she came back to float over my head.

Eva grumbled and pulled her knife from the box. Ally put her glasses back on. The wind blew through the open window and my hair flew into my face, making me shiver, and clearing out the musty smell the room had. Turning to Eva, I whispered. "Why are we here again?"

She glanced at me and did that funny thing with her eyes. She made them go in a circle, like a loop in a rollercoaster. "We have to get the girl, and then wait for Zach to show up." Eva tugged on the hair over her eyes, and her voice got quieter and angrier. "Why we have to go through this stupid game, I don't know. I think Ally's losing it, like you."

"What did I lose?"

Eva snorted. "Nothing you miss."

I pouted. The pulling returned in my head. It was as if I was being pulled by a rope, unable to see was ahead or behind me. The further it pulled, the more the tugs felt like throbs. The rope was getting tighter.

My little fairy whizzed around my head. She was pretty. It felt like she was trying to loosen the rope. The throbbing was calming, leaving a fuzzy feeling in my head.

"Clara, how many cameras surround the campus?"

I blinked. The fairy stopped, and the small tugging was still there, getting stronger again. Blinking again, I looked for the fairy.

"Clara?"

My head turned to Ally. "Huh?"

Ally reached out and pulled me by my arm towards the window with her. She pointed to a distant building, farther than the groups of houses and stores below us. "How many cameras surround the campus?"

I pressed my lips together. "Fifty-two." How did I know that? I bit my nail as the throbbing got harder. It almost hurt now, and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I wished my fairy would come back. She made it stop. Instead, I twirled to the throbbing beats. I wanted to move, to run, to climb, because I had to get away. I had to run, to hide. _Why? _

There was a rope hanging from the beam on the ceiling and a few boxes scattered in the small room we were occupying. Where were we? Oh, right, the attic in the castle. I had to move. The throbbing was hurting now.

Jumping onto the first box, I let out a giggle, only to make sure I could. My throat was starting to burn and I wanted to make sure I could still make noise. Because I needed to be able to yell, to scream. _But why? _My fairy still wasn't back. I jumped and flipped onto the next box.

Behind me, I heard Eva sigh and walk to Ally. I grabbed the rope and started climbing, wrinkling my nose from the moldy smell.

"Why do we have to break into Gallagher?" Eva asked. She tossed her knife up and caught it. "This is so boring. I'm getting sick of games, Alyson."

Gallagher. That name sounded funny. What was Gallagher?

_ The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. Spy school. Enemy. One hundred and twelve students, thirty-two staff members- home to Cameron- it was where Zach stayed when he left- _

I shut my eyes. The pounding hurt. The pulling wasn't just pulling me up anymore. It was pulling me through thorns- no water. My ears were clogged, but there were needles in my head. My heart pounded in my mind. I couldn't breathe. I had to move- had to run.

"Frankly, Evelyn, I don't care what you're tried of," Ally said. "I'm in charge and if you can't deal with an actual plan for once then it's not my problem."

"Oh, is that it? I was under the impression we were a team," Eva hissed. Her voice was icy.

I couldn't hear what Ally said. The pounding was too loud. I let go of the rope and flipped so I didn't hurt myself when I landed. How long was this going to last? It hurt. The needles were spreading, over my neck, down my arms. There was a muffled roaring in my ears. Where was my fairy? She always stopped this.

_ No. Don't stop. So close. _

That was my fairy's voice, but I couldn't see her. Why couldn't it stop? What was I close to? My hands gripped my hair. The pulling was so strong. I felt myself sink to my knees. My breathing was shallow, and I couldn't move. It was wrong, unnatural. He was supposed to be dead. Why was the pain here? He couldn't be here. Ally wouldn't let him.

There were soft voices with the throbbing now. I couldn't recognize them though. Faces followed. Wave after wave. Ally. Eva. Zach. Him. Jonas. Zach. Cameron. Grant. Ally. Mom. Eva. Zach. The pulling was hard now, but it felt lighter, like I was close to the end of the rope.

Then it stopped.

It all stopped, the pounding, the needles, the pulling. They were just gone, taking the voices, roaring, and clogged feeling with them. My head was clear.

I sat up and glanced around. Where was I again?

_ Attic. Old theater. Roseville. Planning a kidnapping. _

I blinked, once. Twice. Thrice.

My head was clear. Not just of the pulling, but of everything. For the first time in months, the fog was completely gone. There weren't any pixies. Was that good or bad?

_ Needles and music. Burning. Smoke and- _no. No. I wouldn't remember. I would not go back to that dark place. Not now. There were things I had to do, to say. There wasn't any danger. No one was hurting me.

I was safe now.

A knife flew by my head.

Turning around, I saw Ally and Eva standing head to head. My eyes flicked from their livid faces to the daggers in their hands. Their hair was loose, like they'd both just whipped around. Maybe that was why there was a dagger in the box behind me.

What had happened in fifteen seconds?

There was a creak and a slam behind me, followed by a draft that blew my bangs into my face. Two steps, then, "What happened?"

I glanced over my shoulder at the boy who'd just walked in. "No idea- well that's not true, I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I'm correct or not yet."

Grant stepped over a box, and then sat on it, a small smile on his face. "When did you wake up?"

I shrugged. "Roughly two minutes ago." Turning back to the two girls about to kill each other, I raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Eva shrugged and walked away from Ally, twisting another knife in her hands. I turned my attention to my cousin. Her eyes were watery, like she was holding in the urge to cry. That wasn't right. Ally didn't cry.

_ Bathroom floor. Holding Ally while she cried. Eva getting mad. _I blinked away the memory. Now wasn't the best time to dig through the misty memories I wasn't able to think about properly when the Imaginary took over. How long had I been under this time? I used to be able to control it, but now it was taking over.

Ally took a quick breath and turned back to the window. Grant and I shared a glance. He nodded subtly, in an 'I got Eva' gesture. I nodded and moved towards Ally.

She didn't move when I stepped next to her. "Not now, Clara." She wrote something in a little notebook on the windowsill. I sighed. The only one worse than Ally with feeling emotions was Eva. However, none of us were exactly the most stable people on the planet. Eva refused to feel anything for anyone. Ally was bitter to any attachment, and I felt everything to the point where they took over.

Yeah, we were so stable.

"You need to stop letting Eva get to you." I leaned back on my elbows, against the windowsill, studying her face. "Or is this about Zach? I'm still foggy on the memories at the moment."

Ally finally looked at me, her eyes, back to normal, widened as they looked over me. "You're awake," she exclaimed, shock flitting over her features. I nodded, pulling my fingers through my hair.

"When- How-" she stuttered, which was a funny sight in itself since Ally was the most precise person on the planet.

I shrugged, simple enough gesture to explain what I didn't understand. The Imaginary used to be an emergency protection I created for myself. At least that's what Jonas had determined. He said that the chemicals and… things _he _did to me when I was little, mixed with what I went through as a child messed up my head. How- I'm still not sure. No one really told me anything about it. They just said I acted weird. After a while, I got used to them referring to it as the Imaginary, and me 'waking up.'

It is not that I was completely normal when I was "awake" either; I could just think like a normal person again- well, as normal as any of us get.

Ally's lips turned up in the smallest of smiles. "It's nice to see you awake." She placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed with the smallest of pressure. I smiled back at her for a second, and then turned to look out of the window.

"So…" I trailed off, picking up her pen on the windowsill. "Let me get this straight." I pointed the pen at her. "You had Cameron alone in a room, then you had Zach and Cameron at gunpoint, but you let everyone there walk out alive?"

Ally didn't respond. She just put her Zoom-in glasses back on and stared out the window.

I continued, "You let Zach walk away without hurting him. Now we're back to where we started- getting his attention by throwing a fit, and she-" I pointed to where Grant and Eva had gone with the pen. "She is mad at you for not doing anything when you could have."

Sighing, Ally took the glasses off again, reached over and plucked the pen from my hand, then marked something in her notebook again. I leaned over the edge of the window and looked down at the grass three stories below, a small smile pulling at my lips. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're stall-"

I was cut off by Ally's glare. "I'm not stalling, Clara."

"Yes, you are." I shrugged. "You can't hurt him, not directly anyway, because you still-"

Ally slammed her hand on the windowsill, and I flinched. "I'm not stalling." She said each word slowly, almost as if she were trying to convince herself more than me.

Sighing, I nodded. "Yes, you are." I put a hand on her arm. "You know it's okay. He's your brother. You need-" I was cut off when Ally pointed the pen at my face like a weapon, which in her hands, it was.

"Let's get something straight here, Clara," she said darkly, her voice low and dangerous. Her eyes were murderous, but there was a glassy shine to them that made her next words void. "I do not feel any attachment to Zachary Goode. He is not my brother. He is not my family, and never, under any circumstance have I, nor will I ever need him." With that, she pulled away and made another mark in her notebook.

Sighing, I shook my head. Attachments were nooses Ally. The only ones she allowed herself to have were to Eva, and me and, though she would never admit it aloud, I knew the break off with her brother was still hurting her. She needed him. He was a part of her, and she hated that- no. She loathed that.

Zach hurt her. He hurt all of us; he left, but that didn't mean he didn't care about us. He did what he needed to do in order to survive. Ally and Eva couldn't see that. Ally couldn't get over the fact that he'd left- that he'd chosen someone other than her. She was surprised at how much it had hurt and hated Zach for having that effect on her. It wasn't anyone's fault, and it was everyone's fault. However, for Ally, it was her fault for allowing herself to be hurt, and Zach's fault for hurting her. But even now, she couldn't hurt him.

Why were we so messed up? I inwardly smirked. Sure, I had memory problems, and flinched at almost any contact. I may have seen fairies and lived in my own world, but I knew well what was outside my dreams. I understood the nightmare that was reality… most of the time. That's why I needed my own place to escape. I saw too much. I understood too much and comprehended too little. My mind was a puzzle to myself.

I glanced at Ally's notebook, frowning. "Don't we already know all of this? We stalked this place enough when we were younger."

Ally shook her head. "They rebuilt after the-" she bit her lip. "After the fire burned it down."

"It burned down?" I asked, remembering too late, what had happened. Ally closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. So much for understanding more than people thought. Guilt knotted in my stomach. Slowly, I sank down until I was sitting down with my back against the wall and the window over my head. We just stayed like that for a while. Neither of us talking, neither of us acknowledging the elephant in the room.

There wasn't a sound for the longest time. Then finally, Ally opened her eyes and looked back down at the notebook. I barely heard her whisper in the air.

"_And it all burned down."_

* * *

**Evelyn POV**

Grant stared at me from the other side of the room. "Start talking." His tone was even, but the hard set of his jaw and look in his eyes were daring me to refuse. I had to peel my eyes from staring at him.

Inwardly scolding myself, I looked at the floor. "I don't know what you mean." He snorted. There was thirty seconds of silence before he pushed off against the wall and took a step towards me. Instinctively, I pressed myself further against the opposite wall.

"Eva." That's all it took.

I threw my arms up. "I hate this!" Pointing to the closed door we'd come through, I scowled. "I hate hiding. I hate waiting. I hate playing these games." I pushed off the wall and started walking around the boxes of junk that littered the small room, glancing at the night through the open window. "I don't understand why we have to wait. She had them cornered. She could have ended this, but instead she wants to play a kid's game. It's infuriating!"

Grant grabbed my wrist as I passed him, pulling me to him. His eyebrows were pulled together, and his eyes questioning. "Do you really want to hurt Zach? He's your best friend."

I glared, pulling away from his grasp. "He left."

"Yeah, but have you ever thought about what was happening besides him leaving?"

"It doesn't matter what's going on, you don't leave people who are counting on you." I shook my head, my hand instinctively reaching for my dagger. My heart skipped a beat when I felt nothing against my hand but my belt. Looking down, I inhaled sharply when I saw nothing in the small slit where my dagger was supposed to be.

A glint flashed in the corner of my eye, and I turned to see Grant twirling my dagger. My eyes narrowed, and he smiled in amusement.

"Give it back," I hissed.

"No."

I took a step back. "No?"

Grant nodded. "No." He slid the knife into his belt. "Not until you tell me why you're really mad."

I snorted, and then lunged.

Grant dodged and grabbed my wrist, twisting it back. "I know Zach shouldn't have left, but could you really hurt him like that?"

Pain tugged at my arm. "It sounds to me like you're on his side, Newman," I hissed, kicking his leg right under the knee and shifting my weight to reverse his lock hold. "Need I remind you, that you're the one who joined us?"

Grant shrugged, sliding under my arm and shoving me against the wall. "I believe you three need help. I don't think hurting Zach is the best way to heal."

I growled, shoving my elbow into his ribs. "What do you know about healing?" I twisted around but he had fought me enough times to anticipate my strikes. Grant held my arms above my head and leaned his weight against my legs, firmly keeping me in place.

We stayed there for a few seconds, staring at each other, and I tried to resist the shiver that trailed down my spine as his dark blue eyes pierced mine. It felt like he was staring into me, like he knew what I was thinking. It made my stomach squirm. My chest rose and fell in time with his breathing. I shoved against him, but he just shook his head slightly.

"I know enough, Eva." His breath was warm against my face. I hated the fact I couldn't even bring myself to get out of his grip. Grant smiled slightly, his voice a whisper. "I know what Zach did; I know how much it hurts to be left, but this isn't the way to go." He shook his head. "Revenge is never a good way to go. It's deadly, Eva."

I narrowed my eyes. "What else is there?"

Grant lifted one of his hands from my arm and brushed my bangs from my flushed face. "Forgive. Move on. Talk to Zach."

"What would you know about that?" I hissed. "You're as mad as we are. We heard your fight."

Grant smirked. "And I knew you had a bug on him."

The air left my lungs. "S-so?"

"So, I knew what you wanted to hear. I knew what to say in order for Alyson to let me in." Grant sighed. "I was hoping I could talk you out of this, but I don't think I can."

I growled, ice splinters spreading across my chest. "You never wanted to help me." I said that because I couldn't face what I wanted to ask. I couldn't have him confirm that he hadn't come for me. That he was as big a traitor as Zach was. That he was leaving me too.

Grant smiled the tiniest bit. "That's where you're wrong. Eva, I wanted to help you most of all." The smile faded. "But I can't let you do this." He leaned down and, before I could shove him off, he pressed his lips to mine.

It was short, but I hated every second. I hated what he was doing. I hated what he'd said. I hated that my eyes closed. I hated what was coming. I hated the ice that melted and froze all at once in my chest.

But even more, I hated that I kissed him back.

"I'm sorry, Eva." He released my arms and I slid down the wall, my eyes still closed. I could hear him moving swiftly across the room to the window, and I opened my eyes just in time to see his silhouette against the moonlight as he opened it.

My body felt empty except the ice that was seeping from my chest to my stomach. Slowly I stood up. "I'm going to kill you."

"I know." Then he was gone.

I'm not sure how long I stayed there, standing against the wall, staring at nothing. There was only the repeating echo in my head.

_ He left. _

_ I'm sorry, Eva. _

_ He left. _

_ He left me. _

_ Grant Newman left me. _

My hand trailed up my hip until it found the sheath of empty leather.

_ He stole my knife. _

The ice and hollowness of my chest thawed in an instant, slowly being replaced with a burning that started in my throat and seeped all the way down to my gut. The stinging in my eyes vanished, and the numbness in my limbs turned into fire.

I pushed off the wall and walked to the window, slamming it shut so hard the glass vibrated against the frame. Turning around, I swung my leg and sent one of the stupid boxes flying against the wall.

This was why caring was bad. This confirmed I couldn't trust anyone. This proved any connections you think you have are imaginary. It was time for me to wake up and see that _everyone,_ even Grant needed to pay- whether Alyson was willing to do it or not.

Shoving the door open, I sped down the hall to find Clara and Alyson sitting with their backs against the wall. They almost seemed asleep. Slackers.

I grabbed one of my other knives from the box I'd thrown it into earlier and sent it between their heads. Their eyes snapped open instantly, and Alyson raised an eyebrow. A silent question. I raised mine in return. A defiant answer.

"We have a problem."

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun! For those of you with questions about Grant! What will ACE do now?  
**

**For my reviewers!**

**I'm so sorry I didn't respond last time! So I'll respond to all of them. **

**Chocolate1414141: I'm glad there are people who appreciate a cliffy! **

**Bookwormbullet: I'm glad you are liking the drama. Joe and Abby were so much fun to write in the last chapter. I was hoping to make it just a tad lighter before the drama kicks up again! Always looking forward to your reviews! Hopefully you'll see there's more to Alyson as the story and prequel continue. **

**Sparkles250711: I love drama. It's so... dramatic! **

**GallagherGirl1897: I hope that's the good screaming? **

**Cheeky-monkey-hehehe: (I love your username) Eh, what's a spy story if the villain isn't a psychopath? Well, she seems like a psycho now... just wait. I think you'll see there's more to Alyson than what meets the eye. Hopefully you'll like her better soon, and as the prequel continues. **

**Lanoon: Sorry I left you hanging for so long!**

**PLLandGG: WooHoo! I made someone speechless! It still amazes me people actually care to know what's going to happen. **

**SolangeloLover: Oh wow! All of them in a day? I'm sorry I was gone for so long, but I am most definitely going to finish this story. I have a outline and everything!  
**

**Leighann213: I guess it's too late to answer your question, but thank you so much for the review!**

**Stronger-than-fear: Oh, Grant's not evil! Ha... But he IS in trouble now, don't ya think?**

**Meep: (All I can think about is the little cute alien in Phineas and Ferb, Meep.) I'm glad you like it. I'm trying to speed up the updates again, but alas, life has other ideas. **

**Libi1997: Oh, I hope you didn't think I was annoyed! I love getting reviews telling me to hurry my butt up! It's such a big encouragement and motivation to know people want to read my story! I just wanted to let you know I wasn't just sitting around. Anyway, THANK YOU for the reviews! Hope you liked this chapter! **

**BooksLover2000: I'm glad you haven't left! Thank you for reviewing and caring enough to read the chapters even though I'm horrible at updating at the moment. **

**Guest: (No name?) I'm so glad you like it! My vacation was super, but now it's over and I can focus on my multiple writing projects! Yay!**

**GOZAMMIE: I would answer your question, but then I'd spoil! Thank you so much for reviewing. Let's see how much you can guess from this chapter! **

**Fanficlover4602: Hi! Here is more! Hope you like it!**

* * *

**Okay guys, hopefully the next chapter will be up in less time it took this one! Let's see how many of you can guess what's going to happen next! **

**-S**


	21. I don't like This

**.o I Don't like This o.**

* * *

**Alyson POV **

Two days after Newman left, we were ready to take what we needed.

I took a deep breath. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, one of the most secure buildings in the world was waiting to be raided, and I was holding a gun. The familiarity was almost comforting. Almost.

"Is there a reason we're not moving?"

Without turning around, I pointed at Clara. She didn't look up from her laptop, fingers flying over the keys faster than I could follow. "Almost in," she said. "There's one last firewall." Behind me, Eva hissed under her breath. She'd started to worry me. I didn't like it. It was evident she was hurting; no matter how much she denied it. Ever since Grant left her, she'd been even more impatient. It was their entire fault. She let herself become too attached, but the worse of the blame was theirs. Of course, my brother hurt our group yet again. Evelyn was not someone I wanted hurt. When she's hurt, she's rash. Our mission didn't need anyone making rash decisions.

Clara's fingers finally stopped typing. "We're in." I looked at her. She was grinning while holding up a blueprint of the campus, including a layout of the new security systems, just like the ones we'd been studying for the past twenty-four hours.  
Only this time there were little blue lights at every camera.

"We'll have five minutes tops before they realize someone's hacked, but that will be enough right?" she asked, brushing a piece of hair from her wide eyes.

I stood from my position at the head of the rundown table, a small smile pulling at my mouth. "Of course." Shoving Eva's feet off the table, I grabbed her arm as she stood. She looked up at me, annoyance radiating from her features. I met her glare with my own. "No rash actions. I don't care what you feel."

She seethed silently for a second, and then pulled her arm away. "We're wasting time." Narrowing my eyes, I handed her the comm, and she took it without looking.

There was a tense moment then in which Evelyn and I stood, seizing each other up, then-  
"Ally?"

Snapping my attention from Eva, I turned to my cousin. "Yeah?" She was kneeling over her bag.  
"Based on the route we plan on taking, which shoes would be more practical?" Clara held up a hiking boot and a running shoe by her ear.  
Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I considered the type of running we would be doing against looks. "Boots. Definitely boots."

* * *

I never liked the woods. There were many places to trip, it was almost impossible to move silently, and the bugs were awful. However, there were a few perks. Like cover from bullets, excellent burning ground for fire starting, and of course, hidden panels inside trees that let you access top-secret spy schools.

I had to admit, when The Gallagher Academy remodeled, they did it right. New cameras with motion sensors were strategically placed in the most unpredictable places (which, of course was so predictable). Laser grids wove through the trees like spider webs, and the latest in pressure sensitive technology was implemented in every stone within fifty yards of the building.

Too bad they didn't know to keep the cameras off places so cliché and they sadly didn't know how to program a security system that Clara couldn't hack. Within ten minutes, Clara had hacked the code, disabled the laser grid surrounding the campus, and set an automatic timer to return all settings to normal in twenty seconds. After that, it was just a matter of getting through the motion sensitive stones and branches, under the paralyzing barbed wire, and within a stone's throw away from the edge of the lake. We crossed into Gallagher Academy grounds without a single alarm being raised.

Of course, there were fewer challenges inside the campus because there was night vision testing tonight, which worked in our favor. There were fewer triggers to be activated, as the Gallagher Girls would be sneaking there perfect little training yard with their new little toys, having no idea what it was like in an environment where you were honestly running for your life. They would be here, learning to do this or grab that then go back to their safe beds not knowing what it means to be in the field. Not knowing the rush of adrenaline that makes your hands tingle when you're one wrong move away from a bullet to the head.

"Ally." Clara's voice ripped me from my thoughts. She and Eva were crouched behind two trees, and a split second later, so was I.  
We'd made it to the edge of the woods, and twenty yards in front of us there were four girls crouched on the roof of a large barn. Another glance showed that there were also five girls near the other side of the lake, the moonlight glinting against the toy dart guns in their hands.

Eva snorted. "What are those? Tranquilizer guns? They seriously train with those?" I waved at her, silently telling her to shut up, even though I agreed with her. We used to play with those when we were ten.

Clara smiled slightly. "They're Gallagher Girls," she whispered. "They only hurt the bad guys." Her smile vanished, and her eyes dimmed slightly. "They only hurt people like us."

My chest grew tight, but before I could say anything Eva picked up a rock and launched it at the barn. Whatever unease I'd felt in the past two seconds instantly vanished.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, grabbing her arm.

Eva shrugged and slipped her arm away. "They were taking too long."

A growl reverberated in my throat. She was getting out of line. I was the leader of this group, and Eva was jeopardizing our mission. Again. Why did no one know how to be patient?

Clara's eyes widened. "They're looking over here." There was a rising panic in her voice. I recognized the way she was balancing on the balls of her feet, ready to spring and run in a split second. She was fighting the instinct to hide, to run.

I glared at Eva. "I guess we're moving. We have less than five minutes. Clara, move to faze two." She was gone instantly. Eva snorted, shaking her head and muttering something I chose to ignore, and then there was static in our ears. Clara had activated our comms. Apparently, the Gallagher Girls thought we were one of them doing a bad job at hiding. As if.

Still glaring at Eva, I nodded once, and she smirked. I counted to five, then I launched myself away form the tree and started running towards the barn. Time to wreak havoc.

Running, in plain sight, surrounded by Gallagher Girls, while on a secret kidnapping job may seem like a bad idea to some people, but if we did things like normal agents, we would have been dead a long time ago. Our secret? We were simply better than the CIA. We were better than the Circle. We were better than the Gallagher Girls. We were trained by all of them. We knew all of their secrets.  
That's why when I turned and sent a bullet into a girl's leg, there was five seconds where the only noise was the wind and the soft thud her body made when she hit the ground.

Five seconds in which no one screamed. No one moved. No one knew that the entire security system was deactivated. Five seconds for me to take control of the adrenaline that flooded my system. Five seconds for my racing mind to shove the memories back into their corner.

Then everyone snapped back into reality. There were girl's screams, and about ten people were running at me. Swarms of darts were flying through the air, and I was grinning as they hit my skin, only to fall off and leave me unaffected. Clara's defense syrup was as effective as the day we robbed her father's lab. I turned and raced towards the barn. More girls and guards were starting to shoot, and my heart was starting to catch up with what I was doing, its racing an accelerating rhythm in my chest.

"We got her." Clara's voice whispered in my ear as I crouched on the roof, Gallagher Girls seconds from following. It was evident they had realized the security was hacked. I could hear the Code Black sirens from here. Glancing at my tingling hands, I breathed in the panic around me. Faze two complete.

Climbing to the point of the roof, narrowly avoiding the real bullets that were being fired, I pressed the small button wrapped around my wrist and ignored the clench in my stomach. Three small pellets rolled into my hand. Turning around, I scanned the chaos under me. Girls were surrounding the barn, and traps were activating everywhere. It was, in every way, the most impressive lockdown I'd seen besides that one time we invaded the CIA headquarters. "Now let's pray they kept out escape route," I muttered.

Some of the girls were only feet beneath me now. Looking down at them, I grinned as I scraped the top off one of the small pellets and tossed it below. There was a split second before a small trail of smoke floated up as the pellet fell. The Girls fell like flies.

Someone grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. My body reacted instinctively, shifting my weight and flipping the girl over my shoulder. I moved to kick her off the roof when she looked up, eyes wide. She couldn't be older than fifteen, meaning she would have just started training. Breath hitching, I turned mid-kick and switched targets, instead hitting the guy about to tazer me. My foot connected with his temple, and he fell like a brick.

The girl was still there, staring at me with wide eyes. Scowling, I activated another sleep pellet and sent it over the other side of the barn. Girls and guards fell, leaving me untouched.

"Black Widow, we're out." Evelyn's voice was hushed in my comm.

Keeping my eyes on the Gallagher Girl in front of me, I pressed two fingers to my ear. "Copy, Viper." Glancing at my watch, I let out a relieved breath. We were still on schedule. "Pixie, initiate exit plan four, five, nine." There was no response, but a second later, the Code Black sirens stopped.

Grinning, I carefully made my way to the edge of the barn roof. Everyone within a twenty-yard radius was knocked out. The only reason I was still conscious was the serum we took before breaking in. It was one our personal achievements from the good old days when we were still training under the Circle.

"You won't get away."

I spun around. The girl was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and her nose and mouth covered by her shirt. She wasn't fighting, she wasn't trying to stop me, and I couldn't stop myself from taking a step towards her.

"What?"

She stared at me. Her eyes were still wide, despite the obvious struggle she was making to keep them open. When she spoke, it was just loud enough for me to hear. "Whatever you're taking, we'll get it back. Our sisters will find you." She didn't say it as a threat, but fact, as if she was telling me the color of the sky.

I let out a slow breath before smiling a slow smile, the smile I used to have before the bitterness set in. Killing would be easy, a simple push. Why not send a clearer message to the others? I bit my lip in question. Why not? I couldn't come up with an answer.  
Leaning towards the girl, I whispered, "Oh, I'm counting on that." After a second, I added, "In fact, would you call Macy McHenry for me? I think she'd like to know about this."

The girl's eyes narrowed in confusion before I reached over and yanked the shirt from her face. The girl gasped in surprise, then slumped forwards, unconscious.

Shoving the confusion, and whatever else there was back, I ran to the edge of the roof and jumped, releasing the last pellet as I landed. Girls and guards dropped around me. No one heard Evelyn and Clara taking one of their own away through their secret passageways and into the woods. But it didn't matter what anyone heard. It didn't matter what they did.  
We were already gone.

* * *

**Macey POV**

"I don't like this."

"I know."

"I really don't like this."

"I know."

"But I really, really don't-"

"Liz!" Bex sat up from her position on the couch. "We know."

Our blonde friend just shook her head and kept pacing, nervously chewing on her thumbnail. Bex and I shared a glance, but there was nothing to do. None of us liked sitting and waiting, but once again, that's what Zach said we should do. Why Cammie was actually doing what he said, I didn't know. She had been distant the past few days since the zoo incident, and from what she described, she had reason to be. That didn't mean I liked it and having Joe, Abby, and Townsend with us didn't make it any easier to handle.

Joe and Zach kept acting as if they knew some dangerous secret, we all were avoiding talking to Townsend because Zach still hadn't told him about Alyson, and we were all getting fidgety from staying in one spot while ACE was out there doing who knows what. The entire hotel suite was a minefield, and not one we were trained to navigate.

"You know, there's an eighty-five percent chance Townsend will find out before Zach wants him to," Liz said into the silence. She'd finally stopped pacing and was standing in the middle of her pile of papers that she'd spread out to calculate and document the past few weeks.  
Bex shifted to look at both of us. "I think he needs to grow a bloody spine and tell him already."

"You're right. The longer he waits, the longer we have to tiptoe around everything." I glanced down the hall. "How long do you think we have until Cam erupts?" It had been a freezer between her and Zack, and I was beginning to worry. There was only so much tension we could take. Someone was bound to make a wrong move and set off a chain reaction. Everything could unravel in seconds.

Liz pulled a few papers out from her piles and fanned them out on the ground. "I've come up with about five different possibilities. One is that Zach and Joe will stop avoiding the rest of us, and Zach will talk to Cammie. The second is Cammie will become impatient and confront Zach. Third, Zach will tell Townsend and the rest will work itself out, and another is we," she gestured to Bex and me before continuing. "We lock Zach and Cammie in a room and talk to Joe, Abby, and Townsend ourselves." Liz paused, a whisper of a smile appearing on her face. "That one is my favorite."

Bex nodded. "I approve. When Goode gets back from scouting, we shove him into Cam's room."  
I rolled my eyes. "I think that will result in a screaming match."

"So?" Bex swung her legs around the arm of the couch so they dangled off the side. "If it gets them talking and out of this brooding silence they've got going on, I'm all for it." She grinned. "If we're lucky, they'll be loud, and we'll find out what exactly has been bugging both of them."

I glanced at her. There was bitterness in her voice that was becoming all too common with us. Grant leaving had hurt her too, but of course, she refused to talk about it. We all wanted answers, and there were too many questions. I was sick of it. We knew that somehow, Cammie had seen Alyson in Rome. We knew that Alyson wanted Zach to pay for leaving them when they were younger. We knew that Alyson was going to keep playing games until we stopped her. It seemed simple... until you asked why, how, when, and why again.

"What's the last scenario?" I asked.

Liz looked up. "Huh?"

"You said there were five, and you only named four. What's the last one?"

She bit her lip, shuffling her papers in her hands, before they slipped and fell on the floor. Bending to reorganize them, she said, "Well, it's the least probable, but the last possibility would be for-"

A loud thud cut her off. The three of us twisted to look at the door. Sure enough, there was a second knock, followed by a more urgent pounding.

Bex and I were out of our seats in an instant, and Liz scooped all her papers together. Down the hall, I heard a door open. I nodded at Bex as Cammie appeared in the corner of the room. Getting into position behind Bex, I gestured to Liz. Cam nodded and helped her pick up the papers.

Bex glanced through the peephole, only to stumble back. My muscles tensed. Bex. Stumbling back? I watched her carefully as she shook her head and scowled. In one fluid motion, she swung the door open and lunged.

There was a yelp, and when I moved to see what had happened, I wasn't surprised to see Bex pinning someone down. I was surprised, however, at who was caught in her hold. Behind me, there was a gasp, and I turned to see Liz holding a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Cammie glanced through the doorway and sneered. It wasn't a look I liked to see. Cam didn't waste any time before crouching in front of Bex's prisoner and holding a knife to his throat.

"You got a lot of nerve coming here, Newman." I didn't like it. Her voice was too harsh, too cold. There was something really wrong.

He didn't flinch at the knife, but there wasn't any defiance or sarcasm in his voice as he replied, "Not nerve, Morgan, more like an unhealthy sense of self-preservation." He looked up at her, and I couldn't help but notice how miserable he looked. "I have some bad news you'll want to hear." There was definitely sadness in his eyes as he looked at me and said, "All of you."

* * *

**Ugh, this chapter was so hard to write. I still don't like it, but it's bad to keep you guys waiting so long. Would you believe me if I said I wrote this in two weeks then completely re-wrote it? Yeah, anyways, tell me how it is. **  
**I'll have to read it again tomorrow and fix any mistakes, so sorry if there are many.**

**In other news, being a sophomore is nuts, even when you're homeschooled. Also, I started my karate up again after taking the summer off. I can still throw guys twice my size around! I also am writing the first draft of my own book! I've also been working on restarting my Harry Potter fic, and working on characters for my Hunger Games fic, and writing my Percy Jackson fic. But I have a lot of reading for school to do. Ugh, life. Anyways... **

**Bookslover2000: Wow, sorry. I'm probably not helping your memory with taking forever like this. I'm trying to update, I promise! **

**LifeisGoode: Thank you! The plot was a year in the making and I barely decided how it's going to end! Glad you like it! **

**Libi1997: Thank you. Seriously. Thanks. I hadn't looked at the date I last updated in forever and was shocked to see how long it's been. Plus, it's always a motivator to know people actually do read my writing and wait for it. I'm never able to understand that people actually read this fic like I read other people's fics. Thanks for the review! **

**Wow, guys this is chapter 20! 20! I can't believe it. I'll try to update in no more than two weeks. (I'm sure you all just rolled your eyes and I don't blame you.) **

**Bye for now...- S**


	22. Ghosts

**Hey, guys. I'll get straight to the point. One. I participated in NaNoWriMo (for those of you who don't know, it's a writing challenge to write 50,000 words in November) and I won! However, I worked on my novel for that entire month and was so burnt out and had so much to do that I'd ignored in November that by the time I wanted to write again, it was time to Christmas shop. However, after New Years, I'm writing three chapters as fast as I can, in an attempt to get back to my updates once a week. **

**Here is the second half of chapter 22.**

* * *

**.o Ghosts o.**

**Alyson POV**

My hands were cold, which was strange considering I'd just run two miles. Glancing down, I was tempted to pull the ever present leather off my skin. I hadn't taken off this pair since I'd stolen them down in Texas, right after Eva and Clara were taken. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the Circle fell and I was running alone. There had been so many nights of running away. Away from police, CIA, remains of the Circle, even the FBI found me for something. I was so sloppy, it was impossible to believe my brother couldn't find me.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention away from my gloved hands and focused on where I was going. Exactly where that was, I wasn't sure yet. There was no way I could go to our base when Gallagher was on high alert. Honestly, I was surprised no one was following me yet, though they might not have realized something was missing. I'm sure the people knocked out were their first priority, as was making sure no sensitive information or devices had been stolen. After that, they would check the rest of the girls, and they would find themselves one short. Then the girl on the roof would give a message. The girl I left alive.

For once I hadn't killed anybody, and that was the fact that I couldn't figure out.

The first time I killed someone, I had been fifteen. It was a test. No one believed that the little girls Mom was training in her spare time were trustworthy, skilled, or capable of anything except distractions and targets. Our job was to prove them wrong, and, though no one said it, Eva and I could see the threat for what it was. Either we prove we could clean up after ourselves, or they would clean us up. Eva and I could have gotten away fine, but we couldn't guarantee Clara could make it. So we made a choice, and that's something my goody-goody brother would never understand.

It had been simple enough to prove ourselves. We found someone that the Circle needed to disappear, and in three weeks, he was gone without a trace. The last known sighting of him was helping a girl find her sister in a mall. Who would ever suspect a teenage girl?

After that, we were the Circle's favorite attack dogs. They said the word, and we would obey, as long as we could keep Clara safe. Some people, like Zach or the rest of the heroes, might find it despicable, but what they will never understand is that only the strong can survive this world we run. You can either kill, or be killed. Zach was stuck at Blackthorne, so we killed, and the Circle didn't have a problem with anything we did, as long as we cleaned up after ourselves.

Killing became second nature to Evelyn and me. Clara could never bring herself to harm a moth, but it never set us back. Nothing, not even my brother, stopped us from finishing a job.

So why didn't I finish this one?

Sighing, I kicked an old soda can out of my way. Looking around, I was surprised to see that I was in our old hiding spot, where we used to spy on Zach and the Gallagher Girl. It was dark, hidden behind an old line of weird shops. There was a view between buildings of the small park, the gazebo, and other odd small town things. Running my hand down the worn out brick, it was easy to remember how simple my life had been. Though at the time I thought I was the best agent ever. It used to be easy, helping Zach get information on Gallagher, particularly Cameron. Then he started changing, and it all went downhill.

My hand stalled, and I looked up to see my glove caught on an old nail, the black fabric pulled up slightly, showing the tender pink skin underneath. Biting my tongue, I pulled the glove back into its proper place and left the alley behind me. There was no need to acknowledge ghost from the past.

Clara was waiting for me in the narrow hallway when I made it back to our temporary base, her fingers drumming rapid rhythms on her thigh. She didn't say anything until I was right next to her, sliding into the drafty room.

"Did you kill her?" She followed me inside, her black hair falling into her eyes.

I tossed my gun on the table, keeping my gaze away from hers. "Who?"

Clara rolled her eyes and climbed onto the table, her motions flowing effortlessly as she hopped and pushed herself up into a standing position. She kicked the gun away from her, eyeing it warily. After a second she turned and looked down at me, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Why didn't you kill the girl on the roof?"

"I needed a messenger."

She shook her head. "No, you didn't. " Pushing her hair away from her face, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you lying to me?"

Sighing, I shoved her leg to the side. Instead of falling, she leaned forward and shifted her weight onto her hands, looking up to frown at me. Sometimes it was annoying how much balance she had. It was nearly impossible to knock her over. Leaning down to meddle with my boot, I muttered, "Where's Evelyn?"

"Halfway to D.C." Clara flipped, using her momentum to hop off the table, and stood next to me. She grabbed my arm. "You're the one who told her to go, so stop avoiding my question."

I pulled away from her. "I'm not avoiding the question, I just don't have an answer." It wasn't a lie. I didn't have an answer to either of her questions, mainly because I wasn't allowing myself to think about them. There wasn't any significance in the fact I let the girl on the roof live, when I could have easily shoved her off the roof. The fact I hadn't let anyone in that kind of situation live in years.

Beneath the gloves, my hands tingled ever so slightly. I flicked my hands to rid them of the ghost ants crawling over them.

Clara tsked with her tongue, shaking her head slightly. The small smirk on her face was unnerving. The feeling of the hairs on the back of my neck risisng sent a shiver creeping down my spine. I turned and scanned the room, my eyes trailing the worn out wood and rotting corners of the room.

"Have you done a bug sweep?"

"Nothing but mosquitos."

I bit my lip, glancing back at my cousin who was staring at me with an odd look in her eyes. It felt like she was laughing at me, or maybe waiting for me to realize something. I hated it.

"What do you want, Clara?"

She tilted her head to the side. "You're not killing."

"So?"

"So, the only time you don't kill is when Zach is with you."

It was sick how the mentioned of my brother affected me. My breathing hitched, as my shoulders tensed, then everything, for only a second, relaxed. Why should the person who abandoned me bring... Whatever that was. It shouldn't affect me. I took pride in my iced shell over my emotions. There was no way I would let a ghost of a once brother take them down.

"I fail to see how that's important."

Clara sighed and shook her head. "Of course you would." She glanced at me again before her eyebrows pulled together in confusion, lips forming a small, half hearted smile.

"Are your hands giving you trouble?"

I looked down to see my hands fiddling with the ends of the gloves, the fingers coming loose and wrists pulled up my palms. Thinking about it, the tingling was back. Not that I was telling her that.

"No." My voice was harsher then I meant, but I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry.

"Liar," she snapped. The harshness of her normal, bell like voice startling me. Clara crossed the floor to me in four steps, and was twisting my arm at a unnatural angle before I could blink.

Feeling her tug at the glove, I took a step and reversed out positions. "I'm fine, Clara!"

She shook her head, her voice barely a whisper. "Ally, you haven't been fine since we were sourounded by the fire."

I released her arm, stepping back from her, but she kept talking.

"You're not killing. You're fiddling with your gloves again. No matter what you say, seeing Zach is helping you."

Ignoring the fracture I could feel forming in my shell, I scowled. "How is my hands being problemmatic helping me?"

Clara smiled slightly. "Because they remind you of Zach."

"He's the one who gave me these!" I held out my hands and pulled my right glove up my palm, revealing the pink, splotchy scars that I fought so hard to keep covered. "How is remembering this good for me?"

"It reminds you you're human," my cousin shrugged. Then she reached over and grabbed my wrist, pulling the glove off completely in one fluid motion. "It reminds you what happened. It reminds you that you need him. It reminds you what you two have. These are signs of it, Ally."

My throat was tight and burning, causing my voice to nearly crack as I pulled away, returning the glove to its proper place. "No," I whispered. "These are its ghost."

**Zach POV**

"You've been sloppy, Zach."

I scowled, stepping onto the elevator. The walls were mirrored, showing disheveled hair, pale skin, and bags under my eyes in contrast to Joe's ever present tan and five o'clock shadow.

Ignoring his judgment, I reached over and pressed the button for our room level. Honestly, it was a surprise he had waited this long to turn on 'mentor mode'. In the few days he'd been here, Joe had been nothing but civil, looking at the situation from an objective agent's standpoint. Part of me wondered if it was hard for him- looking at my sister like an enemy like I could never truly bring myself to.

Joe continued, "You should have eliminated this at the zoo."

_This. _Not Ally, not the people causing the problem. I should have eliminated the problem. He didn't want Alyson hurt any more than I did. "I know-" I tried, not wanting to hear how I'd messed up for the hundredth time.

"You shouldn't have let Cammie get into this," he talked over me, his voice growing quieter as well as sterner. For a second I felt sixteen again, being chastised for getting too close to the fire. What did he expect me to do? There was no way to keep Cammie from this, not with her stubbornness and my sister's persistence. I had admitted I'd messed up after the Circle fell. I'd let fear hold me back from finding Ally, from telling Cam, but recently there was nothing for me to do! How could I have kept this from happening without killing someone in the process? Joe didn't even blink as I this.

The doors opened, and Joe grabbed my arm, turning me towards him. The sadness in his eyes threw a wrench in my system. "You should have let me help." Then he let go and walked into the hall, leaving me to my thoughts.

He wasn't talking about recently. No, he was hurt I'd shut him out months ago, that I hadn't told him what had happened to Alyson. I sometimes forgot how much he actually cared for the girls, despite their tactics.

I chewed the inside of my cheek for a second, refusing to let myself feel anymore guilt. Guilt wasn't getting me anywhere. Neither was being afraid to do anything and waiting around. We needed to move before Alyson did something drastic. My throat tightened thinking about the possibilities of destruction my sister and Evelyn was capable of doing and the knowledge that Clara would follow them wherever they went.

The thought of my cousin being thrust into even more violence left bitterness in the back of my throat. I hadn't allowed myself to think of her since this entire conflict had begun, but recently my thoughts kept finding their way back to the petite girl. Jonas had been rambling over the possibilities and consequences of keeping our distance from ACE since the zoo incident. I could tell he was getting nervous about Clara, and I couldn't keep myself from worrying too. Her mind was fragile, and I wasn't sure how much my sister was taking that into consideration.

My chest was heavy as I made my way down the hall to the room. We needed to move, to find ACE, and even if Cam wasn't ready to trust me, we had to find Alyson before the situation got even more out of hand.

There were harsh whispers floating down the hall approaching our room. The door was open slightly, and I could just make out Cammie's voice. Her tone was hard, colder than normal. "-knew if we stayed here something bad would happen-"

"Well, knowing doesn't change that it's happening!" Macey's voice cut her off. "Maybe, if you hadn't been so caught up on your stupid boyfriend, this entire situation might have been avoided!"

"Calm down, Macey," Bex snapped. "It's not Cammie's fault."

Macey's voice rose in volume, almost a shout. "She's gone because we've done nothing but listen to his excuses and -"

I pushed open the door, worry twisting itself into a knot in my gut. Everyone was gathered around the two small couches in the middle of the room. Liz and Abby were sitting rigid on the farthest couch, while Townsend stood behind them. Jonas was on the floor beside them. Cammie, Joe, and Bex were standing over a form on the opposite couch, their expressions ice cold. Bex's hand was gripping Macey's arm, while she stood, nearly shaking, directly over the form on the couch. Only a turf of black hair was visible.

I had to fight off a pang of guilt at the sight of Macey. She hadn't complained at all about her leg, I doubted she even thought about it, but I couldn't fight off the knowledge that my reluctance to take my sister down had gotten her shot. My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms. There wasn't time for guilt.

All eyes shot up to me as I stepped into the room. Cammie quickly looked away, but the others fixed me with a cross of glare and pity. I glanced at Joe, who shook his head slightly. "We've got some bad news."

My throat tightened. What had I missed in two minutes? Moving my attention to the person on the couch, my eyes widened.

Grant grinned up at me, though his eyes were dull. "Dude, you're in trouble," was all he said.

Before I could comprehend the reason Grant would be here, there was a screech, and something slammed into me. My head hit the ground with a snap, stars dancing in my vision. There were three different voices yelling. Something was ripping at my face and neck. Familiarity shot through me, but I shoved the memories and the girl on top of me away.

Macey snarled her eyes half filled with hatred and tears. Bex and Cammie wrapped their arms around her arms and waist, securing her.

"Macey, calm down!" Bex snapped. "It's not his fault."

She fought once more against their grips before blinking a few times, straightening, and crumbling into Cam's arms, her shoulders shaking. My heartbeat rammed my chest, thoughts racing to catch up with what was going on. Grant was here. Macey was crying, and it sounded like someone had been taken. The others seemed worried, but Macey was acting as if someone had died.

Realization spread through my thoughts. The scratches on my face stung as I looked up at Joe, then Townsend, my mouth dry. "Bianca?"

"She's gone." It was Abby who responded. She stood, making her way towards me. "Gallagher was attacked last night." She glanced at Grant before meeting my gaze again. "We contacted Rachel as soon as he told us the plan, but it was too late. ACE has her."

"Is she dead?" The voice was so ragged; it took me a second to realize it was Macey's. Cammie's arms were still on her arm, but she wasn't crying. There was steel in her gaze I couldn't make myself hold for long before dropping my eyes to the ground.

"I don't know." My voice refused to come out as anything but a whisper. "I don't think Alyson would simply kill her, but..." _But she seemed to be escalating recently, and I'm not sure how desperate she is. _I trailed off. That wouldn't go over well.

Grant sat up from his position on the couch. "Actually, I don't think Ally will kill anyone right now."

Joe turned his attention to him. "What do you mean?"

"She seems different... Drained, I guess." He looked from Jonas to me. "Eva was complaining that Alyson was refusing to attack us directly, and she's, I don't know, acting somewhat less like a vengeance crazed psycho."

Cammie snorted. "Yes, because kidnapping someone is totally a step in the right direction."

"Well, from what I've heard, it is." My eyes shot towards Townsend. In all the commotion, I'd nearly forgotten he was here. I nearly winced at the fact I still needed to tell him about Alyson. "According to the limited information I've been given, these girls are prone to drastic behavior. If one is refusing to kill, it is possible her will to continue is breaking."

"That is not a common feat, Edward." Joe crossed his arms. "In most instances, our subjects would be escalating, not declining."

Joe didn't meet my stare, but I could see the tension in his jaw as he spoke of my sister. His friend's daughter. As much of a master Joe was of keeping his emotions in check, this had to be hard on him.

Grant nodded. "It seems strange that they haven't come after us more, honestly. If Ally wasn't going to kill us, Eva would. Especially after I..." He trailed off, clearing his throat and glancing at Jonas. Panic flickered through my head. What had Grant done while he was with them? In fact, I wasn't sure why he was here.

There was a few seconds silence in which the tension slowly faded and the steady pressure of a mission began to settle on everyone.

Townsend looked from me to Grant and Jonas. "Mind enlightening me to exactly how you three know so much about these girls?"

All eyes shot to me. My throat went dry, every breath feeling like sandpaper. I needed to tell him, but my brain wouldn't form the words. There was too much going on. I couldn't deal with another bombshell dropping in our group. Cammie wouldn't look at me for more than two seconds, and now Macey was blaming me for Bianca being taken. There wasn't any more our group could take. But I had lied enough. The sooner I told him the better.

A chime rang out through the room. More than one head snapped to Abby, who was staring at her phone, face paling.

"Abby," Cammie leaned closer, nearly on top of the woman. She took a glance at the phone before ripping it out of Abby's hand. "Mom?"

Joe instantly leaned closer to Cam, while Abby seemed to snap out of her hesitation and snatch the phone back from her niece. "Rachel, any leads?"

Everyone practically held their breath while Abby nodded and gave short replies for a few minutes. I should have been more invested in the conversation, but my focus was centered on Townsend.

I'd accepted our biological bond long ago, but we didn't act like a typical father and son, because when had anything in my life, especially family, ever been typical? We talked. We were civil, but there was hardly anything more. There were missions, the fact we lived on different continents, and the fact we hadn't known each other until I was sixteen. Joe had tried forcing us to bond, once locking us in a steel room which we simply escaped from and then our separate ways again.

This was different though. I was purposely avoiding my father, and was failing miserably. It was one thing to keep a secret from someone when no one knew about it, but having Townsend be the only one here ignorant of my relationship to the girls was adding an extra tension that we couldn't afford.

Abby hung up the phone, snapping my attention back to the situation. I would find a time to tell Townsend he had a daughter as soon as possible.

"Well?" Bex asked the first to run out of patience. Behind her, Macey was staring at the phone as if it would tell her everything telepathically.

Abby turned to me, then glanced at Grant. "Apparently, your friends cornered a girl on the roof during the distraction."

My stomach twisted. She'd killed a girl. Bianca was being held hostage and a girl was dead because of me. I kept my gaze on Abby. I didn't want to see how the others were looking at me. Steeling my nerves, I forced myself to let go of the guilt. Alyson was doing this. I couldn't control how she dealt with things. All I could do was stop her.

"How old was she?" I looked at Jonas. He'd been so quiet I nearly forgotten he was there. Abby glanced at him before answering. "Fifteen." She looked at the three of us before saying, "She's not dead."

Relief flooded my head. Grant looked at me, his eyebrow raised to prove his point. I could understand what he meant now. Alyson had not left a witness in all the time I'd gone on missions with her. If she really had left someone alive, there was a good chance Bianca was alive too.

Abby turned to Joe. "Rachel wants us back at Gallagher to help with the debriefing and a little extra muscle."

Joe nodded, glancing first at Cammie then at me. "You sure you guys can handle this?"

Until recently, there would have been no doubt. Cammie and her friends would have felt insulted for him asking. Now, I could see the insecurity in their eyes. They honestly didn't know if they could handle this. It stung to know I was partially the cause. It wasn't right. These girls were anything but unprepared. They were the sole reason the world wasn't at war at that moment. "We'll be fine, Joe." I felt Cammie's gaze on the back of my head, but it was easier to avoid her eyes for now. There would be time for her to yell at me later.

Solomon glanced at me for a moment before looking over his shoulder. "Edward, go with them and make sure they don't do something stupid."

Translation: Go with them so Zach knows he's not off the hook and is forced to tell you about his twin sister.

Townsend nodded, his eyes annoyed. "Sure, Solomon, put me on babysitting duty."

Abby walked to the door and swung it open. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"


	23. Attempts at Freedom

**HAPPY 2016!**

**Merlin's beard! Another chapter so soon? What is this sorcery? Believe it or not, this is the result of me doing schoolwork again! When I know I have work to do, the attitude kinda leaks over into my writing mood. Anyways, we get to hear from an old friend in this chapter! And pay attention to details in this one! I looked at my notes and it looks like I'm halfway through the plot! Yay! My goal is to finish by June, but we'll see. Hope y'all like this one. I'll try for next week, but no promises. One last thing, I'm going to update the prequel soon (I changed the name to Ignorance and I'm going to change the cover soon), so those of you who haven't looked into that read the first two chapters! It explains a lot of things mentioned, but not explored in this story! Okay, I'll shut up now. **

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**.o Attempts at Freedom o.**

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**Bianca POV**

Waking up after you've been drugged is weird. Instead of instantly being alert, it takes a few seconds for your senses to catch up with your brain. I would know. My family's doctors learned when I was younger that I needed more sedative than normal people my size. I'd woken up early twice before anyone figured out my body was stubborn. Luckily it'd only been the dentist and nothing serious, although the pain was terrible. This time, however, the headache and twisting stomach worked in my favor. It would have helped if I hadn't been upside down when I woke up though.

My heart leapt into my throat, making it hard to breathe around. It took me a few seconds to calm down enough to realize I was lying on something hard, my head dangling over the side. Biting my lip, I managed to scoot myself fully onto the hard surface, hitting my head in the process. When my head was no longer dangling, it was easier to think.

The last thing I remembered, there had been a Code Black. Madam Dabney had told a group of us to go to our dorm and stay there. Then the lights went out. Someone grabbed me. There was a sharp pain in my side. I shook my head. This was ridiculous. Macey had sent me to freaking spy school, and I was still kidnapped. At least now I had a small idea of what to do, I guess.

Looking around it looked like I was in some kind of abandoned attic. There were cobwebs and dust layering the wooden beams and panels of the roof, and the musty sent of dust, mold and rotting wood was thick in the air. I could hear voices from somewhere beyond my vision field, but my focus was on the ties around my wrists and ankles. My hands and feet stung where the plastic had cut and rubbed my skin raw. My arms and legs were irritated by the rough wood beneath me. With a few awkward twists, I managed to sit up.

The room was empty, which wasn't a surprise as no one had done anything when I woke up. The voices were coming from the other room, but they were loud enough that I didn't think anyone heard me sit up. Careful not to make any noise, I scooted myself to the edge of the crate I was sitting on. It wasn't too high, only four or five feet. I wasn't that good at judging distances yet. A girl in my class could have told me exactly how many inches it was. That was the only thing I didn't liked about Gallagher. Everyone my age knew more than me. I scowled. The other girls were probably telling each other how much of an armature I was for getting taken and how they could have done better.

Pulling my feet around in front of me, I hopped from the crate, landing in an awkward crouch that hurt my bound ankles. It took a few seconds for me to gain my balance; I almost fell on my back before leaning against the crate for support.

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I glanced back at the doorway. The voices were still talking, and I could make out a few words. "Waiting... taking too long... start moving..." I didn't pay attention to the conversation in the other room, focusing more on the ties around my ankles.

The girls had left my shoes on, which made this a lot easier. I sank down, into a sitting position, my heartbeat a constant reminder that time was passing. Those girls wouldn't be talking forever, and I was still tied up.

Pulling my feet towards my chest, I rolled my shoulders until my hands were beneath me. With a painful half jump, I was able to move my bound hands around my legs to the front of my body. Ears ringing, I worked my shoelaces loose and wrapped them around the clasp on my ankles, the zip ties on my wrists digging into my skin. Biting my lip, I tied the best knot I could around the clasp. When it was secure, I pulled the zip tie up my leg, tightening it until it couldn't move. Wincing, I held the tie there while moving my feet best I could, as if I were pedaling a bike. It felt stupid, but at the moment I couldn't have cared less. With a satisfying snap, the plastic around my legs fell. My raw skin tingled as circulation began its flow.

When my feet stopped burning, I stood, shakily. It was much easier to release my hands. Using my teeth, I twisted the plastic tie until the clasp was between my wrists, and then pulled, tightening it until it dug into my skin. I winced at the pain, but it was necessary to get out of here. Taking a deep breath, I tensed my arms and stomach, and yanked my arms into my abdomen forcefully, spreading my arms as my wrists made contact with my hip bones.

The plastic snapped, and the amount of force I'd used made me stumble back, knocking into one of the crates around me. I cursed as the voices in the other room stopped. There wasn't time to plan anything; I sprinted to the other side of the room. There was a window closer, but I figured I was up a few stories and didn't trust that I wouldn't kill myself by jumping. The only other way out was a door on the other side of the room.

A girl cursed behind me in a language that sounded familiar, but I didn't care enough to remember. I could already hear the footsteps chasing me as I ran down the hall. The floors were old, splintered, and creaky as I turned corners and searched for an exit.

Behind me, the girl chasing me yelled, "Clara!"

I risked a glance back. The girl chasing me was in all black, but even in the dark I could tell her hair was a bright red, not orange or brown, it was red as blood. It seemed to be an even bigger warning not to go near her. It scared me more than her eyes, or the fact she was gaining on me.

A sharp turn brought me to the edge of a staircase, which I almost fell down. Above me, something fell, hitting the banister. Another girl landed in the middle of the staircase, her feet barley touching the ground before running up to me. I didn't have time to wonder where she'd come from before I turned and ran the way I'd come, dropping to the floor as I passed the redhead. When I was closer to her, I noticed the gun and knives on her belt and arm, thanking Gillian that she didn't seem to be using them. I had to get out of there before she decided they could help.

Making the most reckless decision I'd ever thought of, I ran back to room I'd woken up in. From what I'd seen, I guessed that I was in the abandoned theater in the town near Gallagher. We'd visited the town once, and if my memory was correct, I wouldn't die for what I was about to do.

Shoving my way back to the crate filled room, my heart dropped into my stomach as my shoe laces caught on something. A whimper escaped my mouth as the floor scraped my already sore limbs. It hurt, but I could hear the girls getting closer. I could imagine the other students boasting how they got through this simulation and that exercise, how fun it was, how easy. A hiss slipped through my teeth as one of my captor's hands grabbed my arm. I heard the girl behind me mutter, "Stupid girl."

_Stupid girl. Useless girl. Weak girl. _A growl ripped through my throat. I was none of them, and there was no way I was letting this psycho, my father's body guards, or any other students make me feel like I was. The redhead let yelped as my foot sunk into her gut.

"Ally!" The other girl crouched next to her friend.

I launched myself across the room, my body slamming into the windowsill. My fingers were numb, fumbling to unlock the latch. When the widow actually opened, I could hear the two girls getting up behind me. The air felt ice cold, the last remains of winter thriving at night. I didn't look down. I didn't look back. I simply climbed onto the windowsill.

Then I jumped.

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**Alyson POV **

I hadn't expected her to jump.

Then again, she was a Gallagher Girl. Recklessness was what she was taught. The fact that she'd escaped in the first place proved that we'd underestimated her. _I _had underestimated her; just like I'd underestimated Cameron. You'd think I'd learn one of the most basic lessons of this business by now, huh? Instead I was learning that within the first two months, Gallagher taught how to escape zip ties and jump out of windows without killing yourself.

Clara glanced at me briefly, a small smile on her features, before following suit and jumping out the window herself. I couldn't help the stutter of my breaths as I watched my cousin launch herself out of a window for the second time in her life. The only thing keeping the scream inside my throat was the knowledge that she wanted to survive this time. She probably thought her smile was reassuring, but all it did was dig up memories that made my normally iron stomach squirm.

Swallowing the unwanted emotion threatening to seep through the cracks of their prison, I watched as Clara spun midair, pushing off the wall before landing in a roll and popping up mere yards from the running girl in front of her. I shook my head. _Show off._

Turning around, my hands slid over the weapons I hadn't used. Honestly, I hadn't even thought about using them on the girl, and that scared me. It was simply because she wasn't a threat, though the throbbing in my side would have me disagree. This girl was young and ignorant. She wasn't a worthy threat to need weapons for. I shouldn't have to injure her to catch her.

Since when had that ever stopped me?

Scowling, I shoved the thought aside and grabbed a rope from the hanging rafters, unsheathing a knife and cutting it in two. The questions needed to be silenced. Clara was wrong. Being near Zach was not helping me. I refused to be affected by the person who betrayed me, who abandoned me. My fingers grew warm inside my gloves, the friction of the rope moving between my fingers heating the numb skin. Soon I had a nice knot that even a seasoned Gallagher Girl would have trouble extricating themselves from without catching our attention.

I supposed the zip ties had been a bit basic, but who had time for intricate knots when your best friend is risking the mission and being as unhelpful as possible? Popping my fingers, I tossed the rope over my shoulder and made my way to the main floor of the building. Despite it being old and worn, it was in pretty good condition. The wood needed replacing in some areas, and there were a few places that needed touch ups, but all in all it was a good theater. Maybe the stage could be expanded slightly, since it was a bit open on the sides. Or maybe the seats could be reorganized to make room for some more...

Killing my thoughts in their tracks, I forced myself to focus on the objective. There was no reason to be mentally refurbishing an abandoned theater. No reason for wasting energy on something that would never happen. Quickly sitting myself in the entranceway, I forced myself not to remember why I knew so much about refurbishing old buildings. There was no use thinking about the project that was never going to happen, the house that should have been blown away.

Taking a slow breath, I shoved the memories into their cage and locked them away. It'd been getting harder. At times I could feel the noose tightening, the demons attempting to free themselves. My grip on the small amount of control I had was slipping through my fingers. Clara thought it was good. Evelyn knew I was losing it. I felt like I was drowning, struggling to keep my head above the murky darkness below. But I could end it. I could end all of this, and I would. I would get revenge, avenge my mother, avenge my aunt, burn the remains of useless bridges. I would get my life back, and I would prove I didn't need anyone to help me survive.

...

Maybe it was minutes or maybe it was hours later that the door to the theater opened. I glanced up at the grinning face of my cousin, who was bouncing like a five year old, before shifting my gaze to the person she'd walked in with. "You're back." I wasn't surprised, but seeing her made me tense slightly. It was something I'd never noticed before.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at me, shifting the girl in her arms and unceremoniously dropping her at my feet. "You let her escape." The Gallagher Girl let out a single yelp when she hit the floor, her eyes murdering me five times over. I grabbed her wrists, finishing the knot around her arms and ankles. She didn't struggle, but I doubt she would hesitate if someone ever handed her a gun and told her to open fire on me. There was blood on her arms, more than what a normal escape and jump from the second story would get you. It spread from a cut on her shoulder, but looking closer I noticed the left side of her head was swelling too. A long sigh slipped through my teeth.

"We weren't supposed to hurt her," I muttered, grabbing the girl's shoulders and dragging her to the main room. Clara skipped forwards, wrapping her arms around the girl's waist and lifting until only her feet were dragging. It looked like she whispered something, but I couldn't hear.

Evelyn crossed her arms, matching my pace as we walked towards the stage. There was a scoff in her voice when she replied, "Since when? Since when do we do any of this, Alyson? Sure, we play mind games, but not attacking at the zoo? Leaving a witness? Actually caring about this girl's well being?" Her voice was rising, a hint of venom layering her words. I bit my lip. This had been brewing for days, I'd noticed. Evelyn took a step closer to me when Clara and I dropped the Gallagher Girl on the stage. My teeth squeaked as they ground together. I watched Evelyn carefully, eyeing the knife in her hand as she hissed at me. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're going soft like your goody-goody brother."

"Enough, Viper!" My voice was louder than I'd anticipated, her code name rolling out of my mouth naturally, leaving a raw ache in my throat. She didn't know anything. I was the leader; I'd always been the leader, and she needed to shut up and take orders. We needed to be a team like we used to be before all hell broke loose on our lives. I shook my head slightly, a scowl forming on my lips. "We needed her able to walk," I snapped, gesturing to the girl lying at our feet. "We can't move her fast enough in this condition. So, well done! You've ruined our next move because you can't ever do anything without drawing blood!"

"So what?" Evelyn spread her arms out; Clara bent backwards to avoid the blade. "Let them come. I'm sick of running, _Widow_!" She twirled her hand, knife reflecting what little moonlight there was. I didn't miss the use of my own Codename thrown at me. "Let them come. Let them try to take her back. I refuse to follow you on another stupid game!"

I tried to calm my voice. Evelyn guarded her emotions more than I did. If she was losing this much control, it was dangerous to push her. Jaw set, I managed to mutter,"They're not stupid," through my teeth.

She pointed the knife at me. "What purpose does hiding serve us now? We're mad at Zach for making us hide, for not finding us. Why are we still hiding?"

My nails were biting into my palms. If I didn't relax my fist, there would be blood, even through the gloves. "The Agency is still looking for us. We can't simply-"

"No, that's not what I mean, and you know it." Evelyn stepped closer to me, lowering the knife. "Why are you hiding from your brother?"

"I am not-"

"BS and you know it!" she spat. She held my gaze as I glared through her, mentally snapping her neck. I would feel guilty about it later, but at the moment it gave me a small sense of satisfaction.

After a few seconds, I looked away. "Why don't you just leave then?" I asked. "If you're so tired of this, why are you still here?"

There was a long silence. Glancing back at my best friend, I saw something I scarcely had ever seen. She was still staring at me, but her eyes had changed, the frozen steel dissolving into storming clouds. Her features softened ever so slightly, eyebrows coming together slightly. After a moment she looked down, then back to me. Evelyn's voice was low, nearly a whisper when she finally answered. "You know why I can't leave."

A beat of silence passed between us. I couldn't help but glance at Clara. Beside me, I heard Eva release a breath, before walking away. I sank to the floor, watching her jump from the stage and walk out of the door.

I sat there for a few minutes before moving to where Clara was watching the Gallagher Girl. She was crouched near her head, not touching her, but holding a hand just above her arm. I crouched next to the girl who was sitting with the grace of the Pixie for which she was named. "What are you doing?"

Clara looked up at me, smiling. "Talking." I nodded, deciding I didn't want to know what that meant. Sometimes it was best to simply let Clara do what she wanted. She needed that freedom.

"She's coming back you know." Clara's smile had faded, but the ring in her voice never did. She gestured to the door. "Eva's our best friend. She needs to cool down, but she won't leave."

She sounded so certain, and she and Eva had always had a closer, more complicated relationship, yet, somehow, I doubted it. Evelyn may not have left a few years ago, but a lot changes when you're locked up in an asylum. Since Mom had brought her home all those years ago, I'd always wondered if she'd ever leave. She did once when we were sixteen, but we'd brought her back. Now, I'm not sure if her personal vow to take care of Clara was strong enough this time.

I glanced at my cousin, remembering the look in Evelyn's eyes before she'd left the theater. My lips pulled up into a small smile. "As long as you're here, I doubt she'll leave for good, Clara."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed this! I'm sorry for not replying to the reviews recently, but it's super late here and I have to get up early in the morning. I'll do it for every review I get for this chapter though! Don't forget to look out for a new chapter in Ignorance. Hope you guys like it. - S**


	24. Memories

**Here you guys go. I'm sorry it's late, but you have no idea how many times I wrote this chapter, but it was never right. I finally got it though! Hope you guys like it. **

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**.o Memories o.**

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**Cammie POV**

Despite completely rebuilding it, the Gallagher Academy was the same as ever, only upgraded. The dining hall, grand staircase, library, and classrooms looked as ancient as ever, but beneath the paint and wood, every wall was plated with steel. Every brick was new, stronger, yet looking around; you could swear we only remodeled a few areas instead of building from the ground up. To me, our school seemed to reflect what Gallagher Girls were even more than before- elegant, beautiful, but beneath our surfaces are cores stronger than titanium. My friends and I had the scars and experience to prove it.

For the first time in my life, coming home didn't give me any sense of security. It didn't ease the knot of nerves that had formed in my stomach, and even seeing my mother was a somber event.

"-then I blacked out."

My eyes flickered away from studying the small changes of my mother's office to the girl sitting in front of the desk. She stared directly ahead her hair creating a thin veil hiding her face. She was avoiding eye contact with everyone in the small room. At fifteen, she wouldn't have started interrogation tactics yet, and it was evident in the way she would twist her fingers that she was uncomfortable.

It was strange remembering myself at that age, back when figuring out what boys were thinking was the greatest mystery. Glancing at the boy in the corner of the room, I realized that the male mind was the one thing I hadn't solved over the years. I shook my head slightly, refocusing on the girl. She was now braiding a strand of her dark hair, waiting for someone to respond to her story.

Mom leaned forward in her chair. "Thank you, Elizabeth. You may return to your classes."

The girl nodded, standing up and glancing around at the rest of us. Her eyes paused slightly, snaring on the space between my and Macey's heads. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you." She nodded again to Mom before turning towards the door.

Across from me, Bex met my eyes, a small smile on her face. Before Elizabeth could open the door I stood up. "Oh, and Elizabeth." She turned, eyeing me curiously. I leaned backwards, placing my hand over the gap between the bookshelf and the wall and pressing the hidden button. The bookshelf slid against the wall, revealing the hidden tunnel. Two girls stumbled into the room, eyes wide. I waited for them to gain their balance before continuing. "We would appreciate it if this didn't spread around the school."

The girls gaped at me for a second before nodding. They quickly scuttled out the door, glancing back at me and whispering.

As soon as they were gone, Bex let out a chuckle. "Bit strange isn't it? Seeing them so young."

Macey looked at her, humor vacant from her eyes. "Seeing them before they realize that this isn't all fun and games?"

The silence that followed was painful, because we had all been there. I glanced around the room. My mother and aunt stood with my stepfather and Townsend behind the desk while the rest of us were scattered around the office. No one knew the things they'd seen. I didn't know what the boys had been through. I didn't even know everything my best friends had faced. Just like they didn't know what I'd seen, what I'd done. None of us had the mindset we carried in school. We all had been innocent in our thinking years ago. We'd all grown up to see the world for what it is. No one enjoyed having their ignorance ripped from them.

Joe cleared his throat, and all eyes shot to him. "Based on the accounts we've heard in the past two days I believe our subject may still be within the state." He looked to Grant, who was leaning his chair back so far he would have fallen over long before if Jonas hadn't stuck his hand out, pushing the chair so it swung like a rocking chair. "Where do you think they would hide?" Joe asked, unfazed by the casualness of the boy's demeanor.

Grant leaned forward, his chair making a small thud as the front legs hit the floor. His relaxed features hardened slightly. "As I told you before, they were hiding in the abandoned theater-"

"We've had surveillance on all of Roseville since the attack." Mom pressed her fingertips together. "The place is still empty."

The smirk and chuckle that followed would have gotten Grant punched if it weren't for Liz's arm on Bex's shoulder. Glancing at the smaller girl for a second, Bex sank back into the small sofa, her eyes steeled against Grant's small smile.

I let out a huff as Jonas cleared his throat, bowing his head slightly. "With all due respect, Mrs. Morgan, Alyson spent her entire childhood learning how to evade Gallagher Girls. They know what they're doing, and it's more than possible that they're still in the theater."

Mom sat back in her chair, a determined look gracing her features as she steadied her gaze on the boys. "There is currently a team of Girls in Roseville, should I send them in?"

"No." Everyone blinked at the harshness of the word. The objection came from Zach, who cleared his throat slightly and continued in a calmer, but no less tenacious tone. "This is my fight, and I should have ended it a long time ago." I shifted my gaze when he glanced at up at me. "No one should get hurt because of something I've done." He looked at each of us in turn. "I'm ending this. None of you should feel obligated to help me."

There was a second of silence before Grant snorted rather loudly. "Oh, please." He shook his head slightly, pushing himself out of his chair. "Of all the times to go noble, Zachary, you pick now?" He raised an eyebrow, a disbelieving grin on his face. "We've followed you on every suicide mission thus far haven't we, idiot?"

Jonas rolled his eyes, stepping next to the taller boy and pushing him back slightly. "I think what Newman is trying to say is," he crossed his arms, turning fully to Zach. "We've been in this together from the beginning. What makes you think we're staying behind now?" Relaxing his shoulders, he brought his hand up, pushing up his glasses. "Besides," he added, "you're not the only one who cares Zach."

In the corner of my eye, I could see the adults holding a silent conversation. I bit my lip, watching Zach and his friends. In all the chaos and anger, it was easy to forget that, despite what they'd done, these girls were Zach's family. He still cared for them. This entire situation was hard for him, just like it was hard for me to let anyone in when the Circle wanted me. I couldn't forget how difficult this past month must have been for Zach. I tried to imagine having to fight Macey or locking up Bex. The very thought was enough for me to stand up.

Everyone's eyes snapped to me, their gazes warm against my face. Zach watched me carefully as I crossed the small room. Grant and Jonas backed up so quickly, it almost made me laugh. Almost. Behind me, I could practically feel my friends' anticipation. In front of me, I could see the anxiousness in Zach's eyes. It was unnerving to see the uncertainty in his normally confident expression.

"I've been too hard on you." It wasn't technically an apology, but Zach obviously understood. There wasn't time here and now to have a heart to heart discussion of where we both went wrong these past few weeks. Now was the time for action. All that was needed was certainty that the heart to heart could, and would take place peacefully.

Zach let out a breath, his arms and shoulders visibly relaxing as he put a hand behind his neck. "You had reason to be."

I nodded, a small smile working its way onto my lips. "But we're your friends." I glanced back at my sisters, who were grinning, smirking, and giving me an 'about bloody time' looks respectively. Liz quickly sat up a little straighter, Macey glanced once between Zach and me before nodding slightly; and Bex cracked her knuckles. I turned back to the boy in front of me. "And we're at your service."

Joe stepped forward, a spark in his eyes. "Well then, Mr. Goode, I believe you have your team."

...

"So, Cam, how many memories does this dig up?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Funny, Bex," I muttered into my comm. Leave it to her to mention the one thing I was trying to avoid thinking about. I was attempting- and failing- to block out all the memories that lived in this town. The hard thing about it, however, was the fact Roseville looked exactly the same as the day a brown haired boy saw me take a Dr. Pepper bottle from a trash can.

Same houses, same gazebo, same park, same square. Same memories I'd tried to forget for the past three years. I only hoped I didn't see anyone who would recognize me, considering we didn't bother to use disguises.

"Focus, Dutchess." Zach had taken the lead of this operation. Bex, Macey, and I were making our way through town, approaching the theater from the obvious entrances, while Zach, Grant and Townsend uses more covert entryways. Mom had decided it was better if she stayed at Gallagher, but Abby and Joe were closing in on any escape routes Alyson could use. As usual, Liz and Jonas were commanding our comms and computers. It was comforting having my family at my back.

"Cobra, watch for trip wires, you know how Cla- Pixie is."

Now my focus was getting Zach's family back.

Across the street there was a girl holding a small black bag, leaning against a tree watching a group of approaching boys. I watched as her hands gripped the bag, her knuckles going white before dropping the bag, its contents spilling in the path of the boys.

A few of the boys kept walking, stepping around the girl, but one stopped. Bending down I watched as the boy picked up one of the items that had fallen, a pen. It looked ordinary, but I knew from experience that there was a hidden blade in the handle. The only giveaway was the elegant, gold _Gallagher Academy, _against the black handle.

The boy studied the pen for a second before looking back to the red head who had gathered the rest of her items. "The Gallagher Academy?" The boy asked in surprise, taking in Anna's ripped jeans and leather jacket before his expression turned sour. "What are you doing out of your preppy uniform, rich girl?" He sneered.

My teeth squeaked as they ground together. Out of all the people to see, I had to come across the most pig-headed boy in this town. A voice in my ear stopped me from moving. "Chameleon, I've lost eyeball, where are you?"

"In the square, Peacock. I found Sparrow." There was a second pause before Macey replied.

"Eyeball." Two beats. "Don't take too long, Chameleon."

Glancing up at me, Anna gave me a quick wink before standing up. "I happen to be an alumni," she stated, matter-of-factly, holding her hand out. "Could you hand me my pen please?"

There was a pause in which I thought the prick would actually hand her the pen.

Instead he tossed it over his shoulder. The pen bounced, rolling across the street and landing close to my feet. Glaring, I picked it up.

"You can get your own pen, Rich Girl," Pig-head sneered. "Teach you that not everyone is your personal butler. A lesson all you rich girls need to learn."

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Watch it, Jones."

The boy stepped back, obviously thrown off by the use of his last name. "What the hell?"

Taking a menacing step forward, Anna continued. "Now, I was planning not to hold a grudge, but I can tell you haven't learned your lesson."

"What are you talking about, Rich G-"

Anna reached out and grabbed his hand, twisting it, causing the owner to stumble and bend forward awkwardly, eyes bulging in shock. "Don't call me that," Anna said, her tone sugar sweet. She glanced up at me, grinning.

I took my cue and walked to them, pen in hand. "Hey, Anna." Glancing down at the wincing boy, I smirked. "Hello, Dillon. Long time, no see." Turning back to Anna, I held up the pen. "Drop something?"

In one swift motion, Anna shifted her arms and swiped her foot, and the high and mighty Dillon fell on his face. Ignoring the fuming boy she just dropped, Anna plucked the pen from my hand. "Thanks, Cammie."

Scowling, Dillon stood up, glanced between us, and did a double take. "You!" he snapped, jabbing a finger at me.

I swung my arms out dramatically. "Me." It felt good to face this one part of my past again. I'd never stood my ground with Dillon, and it was gratifying to face him with the confidence I had now.

In front of me, Dillon sneered again. "You stay away from me—" Whatever he was going to call me was cut off by a shout down the street.

"Dillon! There you are!"

I tensed. _No, please no. _

Dillon glanced at the two people approaching before shooting me another glare. He didn't get to say anything because the couple had already reached us.

"Dude, are you okay? You look like you face planted the cement," the boy laughed. A laugh I hadn't heard in years. I studied the boy in front of me. He'd grown an inch and a half since in the last time I'd seen him. His hair was shorter, and he'd filled out; but he was leaner than Zach.

Josh looked away from his friend, turning to Anna and me. His laughing expression dimmed as recognition dawned in his eyes. "Cammie?"

I gave a small wave. "That's me." In my ear, I could hear my friend's voices, but I couldn't understand them. My brain was working at light speed.

One voice did break through the chaos, however. "Cam, don't freeze. Get out of there."

Sucking in a breath through my nose, I processed Zach's command. I wasn't alone; I wasn't a confused sixteen year-old, still hung up on her ex. I was a Gallagher Girl, and I had a mission. A smile spread across my lips.  
Beside Josh, Dee Dee was grinning. "Cammie! What are you doing here?" It didn't escape my attention that she reached out, her hand landing on Josh's arm.

"Hi, Dee Dee." I glanced at Anna. "I'm just visiting a friend."

Before Dee Dee could jump into further conversation, Dillon cut her off. "Yeah, well we got to go." He placed his arms on the pair's shoulders and began leading them away.

Before Dillon could push them far, Josh turned and called, "It was cool seeing you again, Cammie."

I nodded, waving slightly. Watching them walk away, it hit me that I was saying goodbye to something that had once been the most critical thing in the world, but I didn't feel sad at all. I knew who I was, and I had a girl to save.

In my ear, Zach's voice muttered, "Goodbye, Jimmy."

I didn't correct him.

...

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**So, although Ally did an amazing job with the final book, I never felt like we got ****closure on the Josh issue. Plus I wanted Anna to have her revenge for Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. **

**Now, reviewers...**

**bubzchoc: Thanks! Glad you liked it.**

**Lanoon: here is mooooooorrreeeeeeee! **

** : Thank you so much! That's such a high compliment! **

**Stronger-than-fear: More is here. **

**Ali: Not only was I touched that you reviewed twice, but you seriously got me rushing to get this out to you! Hope it was somewhat worth the wait.**

**Alright. Next chapter is a major scene guys! Please review! They seriously help me get these out faster. -S**


	25. Control

**I literally just finished this, and I'm really tired, so if there are any weird mistakes, I'll fix them tomorrow. Hope y'all like it. **

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_**.o Control o.**_

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**Cammie POV**

The theater was old, but it wasn't in that bad of shape. The windows were musty and a few were boarded up. There were cracks in the brick, and ivy was growing up the east wall. From my position, I could make out seven exits, including the windows low enough for jumping. I knew Macey was to my right, and Bex was in front of us. We were simply waiting for our command.

"Chameleon in position," I said into my comm. No one had said anything about my run in with the past, and I didn't really want them to. We had bigger things to focus on. Though, I figured my friends would want to analyze the situation when our mission was complete.

"Exacute phase one." Zach's voice was even, but I wondered if he was nervous. This was the first attack we were initiating on his sister. It had to be nerve wracking.

Macey, Bex, and I walked into the open, approaching every door of the building. Maybe it was my imagination, but the old parking lot seemed unnaturally quiet. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears. Anticipation and adrenaline flowed through my veins, causing my hands to shake slightly.

The front doors were unlocked, which confirmed that we were expected more than anything else. Zach had told us that Alyson would want as much control of the situation as possible. She would manipulate anything she could to turn the tables on us.

Entering the theater, I was surprised at the condition it was in. Liz had informed us that it had been abandoned for over ten years, due to a new theater opening in the town hall, yet it looked like it'd been alone maybe a year or two. The wood was in good condition, though it creaked in most places, the built in seats needed little more than sanding, and despite the cracks in the walls, it wasn't drafty. Overhead, there were second story seats overlooking the stage.

Everything was layered with dust, except the obvious footprints and what seemed to be evidence of someone being dragged across the floor. There wasn't any sign of ACE, but I still found myself inspecting every creak of the floorboards.

"Keep your eyes open, girls," Joe's voice rang in my ears. It took me a moment to realize he had spoken through our comm. If I paid attention, I could hear the guys' quiet dialogue as they made their way to us. Tuning out the voices in my ears, I turned my attention to the main hall as I entered.

The seats created an aisle to the stage. The curtain was down. To my left I could see Macey making her way towards the wall of red. I couldn't see her, but I knew that Bex was making her way towards us from the fire exit. The guys were coming from above and below us, and there was nothing else to do but move ahead.

Bex joined us as we were making our way to the stage. When Macey and I were ten feet away, the curtain parted. I felt my body tense in anticipation.

Sitting in the middle of the dust covered surface was a girl, hands and feet tied and mouth gagged. Her hair was matted, and there were bruises covering her skin. There also seemed to be dried blood on her head and shoulder. But she was alive; they hadn't killed her, just like Grant had said.

I glanced at Macey, but she was already running towards the stage.

A knife landed a foot in front of Bianca. Macey froze. Bex hissed, eyes roaming the top of the stage where the knife had come from.

"Another step and the next one lands in her leg," a voice called from the balconies above. Alyson appeared in our field of vision, on the right hand balcony, closest to the stage. She leaned over the edge, frowning. "Where's my brother, Cameron?"

In the corner of my eye, I could see Bex looking for Evelyn in the controls above the stage. Behind me, I guessed Clara was closing in on us, though I couldn't hear her. I looked up at Zach's sister. "Zach will be here soon. He wants to see you."

Alyson laughed. "Oh, I'm sure he does." She tilted her head to the side, a wall of red covering one eye. "You see, Cameron, the only way I can get his attention since you showed up is like this." She thrust her hand out, pointing to the stage. "First I took you in Rome-" I bristled. "-Then I attacked this little girl," she let out a cackle. Part of me wondered if she was putting on an act, or if she was really this psychotic. "And that still wasn't enough! I had to hijack a zoo, then actually kidnap the girl to get him to come on his own." She sighed, drooping forward over the side of the balcony slightly. "Even now, he sends you girls in first." Suddenly, the broken look was gone and she was gripping the balcony's guard and leaning over as far as possible. "Why did you take my brother from me, Cameron?"

I didn't have an answer. I was almost certain in her last sentence that this was the real Alyson. She wasn't bored, or insane; she was sad- she was livid. She was a sister who felt abandoned. She was the one to capture me in Rome. She was a girl who felt like she had lost her brother and didn't know how to deal with it. She was someone who was seeking revenge because she didn't know any other way.

Behind me, I heard a yelp and a crash. Turning, I saw Bex running to the stage where a part of the catwalk was falling, and Evelyn with it. Macey rushed forward, tending to Bianca while Bex sprinted after Evelyn who was already jumping off the stage, Grant on her heals.

I let out a breath. Alyson had been distracted enough to get the guys here. The hard part was over.

Above me, Alyson growled before whipping around. I could hear her surprised voice through the comm I'd been ignoring. "_Zachy!"_

_..._

**Alyson POV**

Stupid.

Stupid for being distracted. Stupid Evelyn for messing up my plans and making us stay here. Stupid Zach for knowing how to get past my defenses. Stupid Cameron for causing all of this.

My stomach did a small jump as Zach took a step forward. His held his hands out, palms up, which I found irrational considering we both knew how this was going to end. I felt the plastic smile I'd used with Cameron slide into place as the chant I'd made started in my head. _This is what I'd wanted. It was only a different setting. I would still win. I was still in control._ My fingers twitched.

Zach staring at me, his gaze a strange mixture of anger and something I couldn't name. "Alyson, stop this."

I wanted to giggle. I wanted to scream. Which would help me most? This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Yelling at Cameron was one thing, but Zach wasn't supposed to find me first. He never had. That was my job. Below me, I could hear Evelyn yelling at someone. I didn't know where Clara was. My voice died in my throat. _I was still in control._

"Alyson, I won't let you continue this." Zach took another step forward.

My eyes snapped to his. Everyone told us we had identical eyes when we were young, but I could see the difference. His were observant; mine were analytical. His were compassionate, mine were manipulative. His were warm, mine were cold. His never shed a tear; mine knew moisture more than I was willing to admit.

But at that moment, I wasn't sure what Zach's eyes were.

"Why?" I asked, the deadpan tone of my own voice taking me by surprise. Zach raised an eyebrow, taking another step forward. A smirk found its way across my lips. He was scared. My hand found its way to the knife at my hip. It was a familiar feeling, unsheathing it. _I was powerful. I was in control._ "Because I'm dangerous? Because I'm hurting people you actually care about?"

"Alyson-"

"No," I snapped, remembering why I started this whole thing. This was my mission. My goal and I would remain in control of it. "You don't get to talk anymore! All you ever did was talk and explain," I pointed the tip of the blade at him, my voice lowering to a hiss. "Now it's my turn."

Zach didn't blink as the knife was pointed at his face. He seemed to understand that I was getting my turn whether he wanted me to or not.

"You left. Do you have any idea what you put us through?" There was a yelp beneath us, reminding me we weren't alone. I needed to find Clara. Someone had to make sure Evelyn didn't kill anyone.

_Wasn't killing someone the point?_ A metallic flavor flooded my mouth. My cheek tingled where I'd been biting down. It was a pleasant contrast to the numbness that the rest of my body was under.

Zach eyed the knife as he took another step forward. He was only three feet away now. "I was stupid; I know. I didn't think you needed me-"

"I don't need you!" I growled through my teeth.

He blinked, his head tilting ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, Alyson." He reached out a hand slowly. Zach was still scared of me, still scared of the Black Widow. "Come with me. Stop this."

My heart was a constant pounding in my head. Zach was sorry. _Zach left._ He was _sorry._ I stared at the hand like it was a foreign object, and in a way it was. He's stopped reaching out long before he left, but here he was. I'd wanted this since I was fifteen, yet my own limbs felt heavy, frozen. It would be simple to take his hand, to stop fighting, stop running, and stop hiding.

There was a quiet _click. _My head jerked up to see another man with a gun aimed at my head. In front of me, Zach glanced between me and the man quickly. "Townsend, wait." The man didn't react at all. But my moment of doubt was over. The gun aimed at my head only reminded me of my brother's true alliance.

I could take my brother's hand. And _he would lock me up._ _Just like Mom, just like Clara and Evelyn. He would leave me in a cell. _

The knife was suddenly light as a feather, and it only took me a second to close the distance between me and the traitor in front of me.

"Zach!"

There was a scream, and then my shoulder was aching. My head spun, colors blurring my vision. There was black and red, and the muffled sound of people dragging their feet on wood. I heard the clatter of the knife. Something was stinging my knees, and my arm was bent at a dangerous angle behind my back. Needles were attacking my hands, the leather only irritating them further.

Rapid breathing filled the air. As my vision focused, I noticed Zach crouched in the corner of my range of sight, but he wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the girl holding my arm while she shoved me forward. "Clara..." Zach's voice was cautious. Almost as if her were worried that she would hurt me. The wood below me creaked under my knees as she tightened her hold on me.

When she spoke, her voice was trembled. "She was going to-"

"Clara, look at me." Zach stood up on one knee, hands raised. He kept his eyes trained on her. "I'm fine, Clara."

The hands on my arm shifted, and I quickly twisted out of my cousin's grip. She was staring, wide-eyed at Zach, her hands trembling slightly. "Don't leave," she whispered.

Zach's voice was steady. Determined. "I won't."

There was a gunshot below us. The hairs on my neck stood up as I flew to the edge of the balcony. I could hear Zach and Clara doing the same behind me.

From my height, I could make out two Gallagher Girls running after Evelyn towards the stage. Grant was waiting for her at the stage. I glanced back at Clara, but she was already climbing into the barrier. She didn't look at me as I grabbed her hand. "Get, Eva out of there." I released her, and she lowered herself before jumping.

I didn't get to watch her land. A hand gripped my arms, but I was already twisting, my fist sinking into my attacker's gut. To my surprise, it wasn't Zach I'd punched. The other man was trying to regain his grip on me, his gun forgotten apparently, but I was faster, ducking under him and coming up in front of Zach.

He didn't try to grab me, instead held out his hand again, his eyes pleading. "Ally, please."

I bared my teeth, trying to push past him. "No."

This time he did grab my arm, twisting my arm. His eyes hardened, reminding me of our old fights. "Fine."

Scowling, I sent my foot into his side. His grip slacked as he stumbled, but he was coming at me again in less than a second. I smirked slightly at the familiarity of his strikes. We'd grown up sparing for fun; it would be interesting to see who would win this.

As another kick flew inches from my head, I bared my teeth, suppressing the memories that threatened to surface. This wasn't a sparring match, and if I lost, there would be more to pay than

"I'm not going to let you run again!" Zach snapped after I blocked another punch. My head was throbbing from a strike he'd managed to get through. His lip was bleeding.

I snorted, failing to put him in an arm lock, and dodging his kick. "You're not letting me run? Maybe now you know what I felt for years!" I snapped, letting the anger flow into my strikes. In the corner of my eye, I saw the other man watching us carefully. I caught one of Zach's hands and bent his wrist back. "How do you think it felt realizing your brother wasn't going to come back for you, Zach? That you'd chosen that girl over your blood? After everything I did for you, you chose her!" My voice cracked, throat raw, but I couldn't hold back my screams. "You let Mom die for her! Clara needed you, Zach!" My voice died in my throat, coming out in a whisper. "I needed you."

Zach didn't get to react, because the man grabbed my arms, ripping me off my brother. I hissed, twisting in his grip, but he was too strong. In my moment of weakness, all control I'd had of the situation evaporated. The man shoved me onto my knees, holding me down. "Your sister?" He sounded angry.

"Townsend, I-"

My heart skipped a beat. The man's grip faltered ever so slightly. "Catherine's?" he snapped. I shoved my elbow into his side, but my trick wasn't going to work a second time.

In front of me, Zach was staring at the man like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. What was so important about my relationship to Catherine? "Get your hands off me." I hated how weak my voice sounded. "This is a family matter."

Zach glanced down at me before looking my captor in the eye. "She's my twin sister," he waited a second before adding in a pointed tone, "Dad."

Taking the second of stillness for my advantage, I shoved my leg out, off balancing the man Zach had just called his father. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, the needles pulsing beneath my gloves with every beat. Shoving myself forward, it took only two steps to reach the edge of the balcony. I needed to get away, to regain some form of control of my head. Zach tried to stop me, but his fingers slipped over my wrist. Pain shot through my shoulder as my arms stalled, but it wasn't enough to stop me from jumping.

My left hand felt ice cold without my glove.


	26. Blood to Thaw

**Just wrote this, so I'm sure there are mistakes, but I'll edit it later.**

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_.o Blood to Thaw o._

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**Evelyn POV**

The two Girls in front of me were getting closer, and I was running out of stage.

Behind me, I could hear Clara talking to Grant as she dodged his advances. In front of me, the two Girls were trying to corner me. It was a simple move to avoid, but I couldn't keep an eye on Clara while doing it. Why she couldn't simply get out of the way I didn't understand; she was just adding an obstacle.

I'd been fine before she launched herself off the balcony and into my fight. She'd been safer with Alyson. Why did she always have to make things like this difficult?

"Eva, I think Ally needs help."

I glanced back where Grant was failing to catch the little Pixie, dodging a kick from one of the Girls. "Too bad. I'm a little busy at the moment."

Clara jumped in front of me, nearly getting smacked by the dark skinned girl. "But she almost stabbed Zach."

In front of me, Cameron gasped. In the little lovesick Girl's hesitation, I reached forward and twisted her arm back, gaining the better position in our chaotic dance. _Always so emotional. _She stumbled forward as I kicked her in the back. The hairs on my neck raised, and I turned just in time to block the other Girl's next strike.

"Eva, do you think Ally's okay?"

Twisting out of the Girl's grip, I glanced at Clara, who was now perched on the catwalk twenty feet above us. I didn't particularly want to know how she got up there in less than a minute. "Alyson hasn't been okay in weeks." _None of us have. _I scowled at how hard I was breathing. Simply because I could beat these girls didn't mean it they weren't a challenge. My entire body ached dully, some area throbbing where strikes had landed. Clara wasn't helping either, dangling by the ropes supporting the light fixtures and surprisingly, a few old props from forgotten plays. Giant fake stars and clouds dangled above us. There was even a faded crescent moon abandoned in this old place, left behind.

Even cheery, little towns disregarded things they deemed useless. No one ever keeps anything unless it will help them. Do something for them. There is never such a thing as unconditional.

The girls were talking to each other, but I didn't pay enough attention to understand whatever language they were using. I did notice, however, when they began to back away from me. My body tensed, and then I heard the haunting sound of old, rusted metal and rotting wood bend and break. I had a split second to discern which direction to move, because the curtains and their masts were falling.

The giant walls of red and dust were folding in on themselves, creaking and swaying as they hit the stage. A plume of dust and rotten wood chips floated through the air, stinging my eyes. I barely made it to the back before the falling wood shredded my skin. The stage trembled as the masts and lights tumbled down after the giant wall of fabric.

Our exit was effectively cut off, and so was all thought of getting to Alyson. Not that it'd ever been a objective in my mind. In the corner of my eye I saw Clara running down the now somewhat unstable catwalk to someone else. I ripped my focus away from the boy who'd just trapped me with the two Girls trying to kill me, refusing to acknowledge him here.

Said Girls were already closing in, trying to cut off any escape routes left, and as much as I hated it, their strategy was working. In a few minutes I would be forced to fight, and while I knew the Gallagher Girls wouldn't be a threat, I couldn't count on getting Clara out of here too. _Stupid, delusional Pixie. _

_Bravo, Alyson. Your brilliant plan is about to get us thrown in a cell again, or worse. _

"Come on, Eva. Let's do this the easy way."

I didn't want to turn around. I didn't want to know how I'd let him get behind me. I refused to look at the traitor at my back. Shards of ice were already working their way through my chest. Wounds I hated were aching, and I wanted, no I needed to make every pain vanish. Every icicle needed to melt, and I'd found out long ago blood was the most convenient heat source.

The right blood could fix any problem. The right blood would make any pain go away. It'd worked with the Circle members. It'd worked with _Her_. It would work with Cameron and all her little friends. It would work with the traitor behind me.

He grabbed my arm from behind, but I was already moving. A side step and swift kick to the leg had me towering above him. As I shoved his head into the old wood on the stage, hoping he got splinters in his eyes, my own were raking the surrounding area, my heartbeat loud in my ears.

It wasn't loud enough to drown out the boy's voice though.

"Eva, you don't have to do this. I don't want to hurt yo-"

I twisted him around with a speed that even surprised me. My knife was at his throat in less than a second, but my eyes stayed on the girls steadily getting closer. "_Shut up!_" I hissed. "You don't care about me. You don't know what I have and don't have to do. You don't know _anything_, so shut up before I kill you right now."

Instead of responding, Grant glanced up at the Girls. "Cam, listen to Zach." The girls stopped moving, almost looking confused, but I could tell their focus wasn't on me anymore. It was on whatever was going on in their ears.

Newman moved his attention back to me. "Why haven't you killed me yet, then?"

My eyes dropped down, and it was the worst thing I could have done. Newman wasn't glaring, or scared. There wasn't anything in his expression but a strange mixture of sadness and something else. Something I didn't want to think about.

Possible answers to his question were racing though my mind. _Because Ally told me not to. Because I want it to hurt. Because you're not worth it. _None of them were true. None of them explained why I couldn't make myself apply the small about of pressure needed to end his life right now. My brain couldn't understand why I'd all of a sudden become weak.

I nearly jumped when Clara's voice rang out above us.

"Ally, you're okay!"

The Gallagher Girls in front of me snapped back into reality, both glaring at the girl I guessed was approaching from behind me. I didn't know how she got past the barrier of wood, fabric, and metal, but if she could get in, we could get out.

"Let's go, Viper." I turned my head in surprise. She sounded out of breath, which wasn't abnormal, but the apprehension and tension in her command was. Her hair was a mess, and the way she stood told me there was more wrong with her than her voice. Her eyes flashed when I didn't move immediately. "_Now!" _she hissed.

Just like that all the concern and confusion evaporated on the spot.

I narrowed my eyes, dragging my knife down Newman's arm to make sure he didn't jump me the second I stood up. He hissed slightly, but my focus was on the Gallagher Girls in front of us who were talking into their comms as they got closer. Above us, Clara was weaving in and out of beams and props.

Alyson kept glancing back, her feet ready to run at a moment's notice. When I was done with Newman, she cocked her head towards the far back corner of the stage behind the Gallagher Girls. "There's an exit behind them. It's the only one we can take."

"Where's Zach?"

She turned away. "Focus on getting out of here."

The Girls were watching us carefully, but no one was moving. I could see the taller one glancing at Grant, but I knew she wouldn't move to help him yet. Not until we were in their custody. They weren't stupid. Caging a wild animal had risks, and the closer they got to us, the slimmer the chances either of our groups would get out of this unscratched.

My fingers tightened around my knife. I didn't want to get out of here unscratched. I wanted to take these Girls down, or die trying. I wanted this stage to run red as the fallen curtain behind us. I wanted the icicles to melt, the pain they caused to thaw.

Behind us, shouts were being exchanged. I glanced back to see Zach and some other guy close our last option of retreat. Beside me, Alyson looked ready to bolt. She was nearly as bad as Clara, always running.

"Alyson-" Zach started, but his sister turned her back to him, craning her neck to look at Clara above us.

"Clara, let's go!"

"Alys-"

A knife flew by his head. I turned to Alyson, but she was already running. Zach yelled something, but neither Alyson nor the Girls acknowledged him. I doubt the Girls were expecting Alyson to simply run around them.

Expect the unexpected can only prepare you for so many things. One of them isn't normally a trained assassin running away like a ten year old.

Hissing through my teeth, I glanced at Clara, who would have the hardest time getting out of this. Something was wrong with Alyson- more than normal. She wouldn't leave Clara; she wouldn't just run- not like this anyway. She'd been running from a confrontation too long. Ignoring the people closing in on me, I glanced up at the girl singing in the rafters.

She was staring right at me. I blinked. She held up a rope.

My confusion must have shown on my face because she pointed back to the catwalk, where the main controls of the rotting props were. A grin spread slowly across my face as I understood what she wanted me to do. It was simple. A precise throw would bring down the dangling props and let us get out of here. The scene was familiar, too familiar.

_If you would have sliced the rope, you wouldn't have been caught. _

My throat tightened, but I was already shoving my way across the stage. It didn't matter Zach was yelling at me. It didn't matter that I might have dislocated one of the Girl's shoulders. In less than a minute I was in position to throw. My hand tingled, the knife steady as I found the perfect target.

_One centimeter is the difference between cutting a rope and nine months in an asylum. _

Alyson was nearly to the door. Clara looked ready to jump. The only sound in my ear was the rushing blood through my head. Clara crouched forward, ready to lower herself to the ground. I nodded at her once before letting the knife fly.

For one paralyzing second it was simply hurtling through empty air.

Then the rope snapped. The prop fell, taking another down with it, and another, and another. The noise was terrible, but my focus was on the girl laughing above the chaos. The girl who wasn't jumping down from her perch.

"Clara!" My voice ripped through my throat of its own accord. Ahead of me, Alyson was snapping at me to hurry up.

Clara grinned at me, swinging her legs over the edge of the teetering catwalk, as if nothing was wrong. Nothing was happening around her. In a simple gesture, she waved me ahead, telling me to run. She'd done it before, multiple times. She always followed right after me, but this felt different.

"Viper, _move!"_ A hand was pulling me, nearly ripping the sleeve of my shirt. A harsh voice was hissing near my ear. The stage was starting to shutter from the impact. My heart was in my throat, thoughts flying faster than I could keep up. My feet stuttered along, forced to move in order to stay somewhat balanced. One of the last clear memories of that moment was Clara saluting us, before launching herself into a flip. She tumbled twice in the air before landing on her feet among the remains of the props.

Right in front of her traitorous cousin.

...

Within five seconds we were out the door. The ground was making my head spin. My unfocused vision finally started to clear twenty yards from the building. The sound of feet pounding the ground was the only sound in my ears besides Alyson's growls to move faster. Every instinct in my body was reeling its head, fighting for control.

_Don't get caught. _

_All for one. _

_Every man for himself. _

_Never leave a member behind. _

_Protect. _

I nearly tripped as my heels dug into the ground, my voice ripping through my throat. "No!"

Ahead of me, Alyson stuttered to a halt, glancing back at me with wide eyes. I didn't give her a chance to respond to my outburst. "Stop running! I won't do this again, Alyson!"

"Go back then! I'm done with them." she snapped, her hands shaking. I did a double take and realized she was only wearing one glove, the scarred skin pale compared to the rest of her arm. I didn't take the time to wonder how she lost the glove, or what it took to take it off.

I pointed at the building that no doubt would soon be pouring with agents set on tracking us again. "Your cousin is still in there!"

Alyson took another step back. "You saw her. She knew what she was doing!"

Breathing was becoming a difficult task, each exhale burning my throat. "So you're just going to leave her to be taken again?" The yells weren't helping the pain in my throat, but I couldn't keep any quieter. "You're just going to abandon her-"

"I am not abandoning her!" There was suddenly a gun pointed at my face. I wasn't aware she had a gun. In a second she seemed to realize what she was doing. She lowered the gun, eyes wide, chest heaving with every breath. Her hands were still shaking. She almost looked... afraid? What the hell did Zach do to her?

Alyson shook her head slightly. "I'm not abandoning her. She chose to stay behind. She chose to separate from us." I wasn't sure if she was trying to convince me or herself. She looked down at her bare hand, curling and uncurling her fingers. "They won't hurt her. Zach won't..." Her voice died in her throat.

Confusion and anger stirred in my chest, bubbled right below my skin. A hundred things were running through my head, but only one made it to my mouth. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you, Alyson?" I growled, pointing at her with a knife.

"Nothing." Her eyes steeled, every wall she had going up.

"Bullsh-"

"Shut up! You haven't listened to me for weeks! If you have a problem with what I'm doing then you don't have to stick around me. You're just mad I'm not letting you kill someone."

I almost choked on the rage that was threatening to tumble through my teeth. I'd never wanted to attack Alyson, never wanted to see her bleed, until now. "You're leaving your family behind-"

"What do you know about family?" She seemed to reel back as soon as the question left her mouth, but it didn't matter. I was already lunging.

Everything was a blur of red hair, my own blonde, leather and the glint of knives. No one ever tells you that when you're fighting, you have nearly no idea what is going on, that your brain relies completely on instinct and muscle memory. Your mental state must be stronger than your opponent's.

Alyson and I started training together when I was ten. Our instincts were practically identical, and neither of us was in the best metal state. So when I sliced through her shirt, and blood started running down my leg, it wasn't too much of a shock.

A high pitched scream knocked our surroundings back to the forefront of our minds. Fifty yards away, a group was watching us, jaws dropped, phones up, recording us. A rosy cheeked blonde was clutching a boy's arm, her hand over her mouth in horror.

Cursing under my breath, I staggered back, my hand gripping the stinging cut on my thigh. It took me a few seconds to reach for my knife, now coated with red. _Blood could fix anything. Melt the ice. Thaw the pain. _My chest still ached, but my senses were going haywire. I glanced at the girl in front of me once, then I was running. Away from her. Away from the building, and the people inside. Away from the source of the pain, the truth that everyone leaves.

_No more. _

_It was my turn to run. My turn to leave._

As I broke through the woods, my breathing steadied into a fast rhythm. The cut on my leg was still bleeding slightly- I would have to fix it soon, or else my own blood would leave an obvious trail.

It took fifteen minutes to reach the entrance to the underground safe room. Luckily, Alyson had missed any veins that would have made running without passing out difficult.

The room was nearly pitch black, but there was nothing to trip on. I could hear things scurrying away from me as I found the string dangling from the dank ceiling. The weak light clicked on, revealing a small room with stone walls, concrete shelves on the walls, and a small bundle of rough fabric sitting atop a creaky metal cot. I didn't linger on the memories that hid in the cracks on the walls. Instead, my focus was on grabbing the gauze in one of the concrete cubes in the corner and wrapping my leg.

My body was aching, and my throat still burned. I refused to think about who Alyson had just left with her brother. Who I had just left. It didn't matter. I sucked in a ragged breath as the ice splintered, piercing my lungs. My grip tightened on my knife.

This was all those_ Girl's_ fault. They took Zach away. They took away my only security. They were driving everyone insane. They needed to be erased, obliterated. The ground needed to run red with their blood. _Blood to fix. Blood to thaw. _

Pacing around the small area, something caught my eye in the small cubicles on the walls. A slow, wicked grin spread across my lips as I picked up the small vile. Maybe I could skip blood just this one time.

I sat back on the cot, excited for once in a long time. For the first time in years I was following my own orders. It was my turn to attack, my turn to plan. My turn to take revenge on those who deserved it. Blood would taint this world.

_And no one was going to hold me back. _


	27. London Bridge is Falling Down

**.o London Bridge is Falling Down o.**

* * *

**Clara**

_London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..._

Eva's knife had sliced perfectly, and now the ceiling was raining, storming, screaming. The creaks and groans of twisting wood and metal were awful, dragging across my ears with painfully long nails. Everyone was shouting. Names, commands, screeching. It all pounded my senses, slicing my ears open and raw.

My feet shuffled as the metal I was standing on lurched. It jumped, shook. Below me, Zach was running, but Eva was watching me. I think she called to me, but the screams of the old decorations choked her voice before it reached my ears. The world spun. I lowered myself down, leaning over the edge of the trembling catwalk. Catwalk. That was a funny word. Catwalk, catwalk, catwalk-

Another quake made me choke on my heart. The pressure between my eyes was returning. It'd been getting harder to keep myself afloat through the ragged waves of my own mind, every fiber straining against the pull of the inky blackness, the lovely painless void. Every nerve was fighting the need to escape, to hide, to _run._

Ally and Eva were too occupied to notice, and I hadn't wanted to distract them from their mission. The catwalk jumped forward again, and my eyes found Eva's. Ally was pulling her towards the door. I needed to jump if I was going to follow them. Ally needed help, she was slipping; every hour she got closer to the edge, and Eva was teetering ever closer to the brink, every minute closer to the impending snap. If I was going to leave with them, I needed to jump- now.

I glanced down, and for a moment all I saw were the waves, black and violent. Mist sprayed up as they crashed against each other, foam swirling through their dark currents; every whirl daring me to dive, inviting me into the torrents of unforgiving indifference. I leaned closer.

Another quake jerked me back. The supporting wires of my hanging bridge were close to snapping. Breath shuttering in my chest, my eyes found their way down again. The waves faded, but they didn't disappear; I could see through them, like a dark tinted glass. Zach was crouched over the two Gallagher Girls. Grant was dodging the falling pieces, one of his arms over his head, the other limp at his side. My breathing was speeding up, trying to match my heartbeat's rapid pace. I could feel my narrow bridge trembling, nearly ready to fall. Eva and Ally were almost out the door. Eva was staring at me as my cousin towed her along, away from the stage, away from her brother, away from the confrontation she couldn't bring herself to face.

My cousin was running, fear in her eyes.

My cousin was protecting, a sadness and longing in his.

I could only follow one.

_Run. Run. Ru-_

The bridge shook again, my hands trembling with the force. A wave nearly reached my foot. I had to blink the spray from my eyes. My head was already starting to feel foggy. My insides seemed to melt as I raised my hand in a simple salute just as Ally tugged Eva through the door. Then I jumped; down down down down down...

...

There was no splash, only the roar as the waves swallowed me whole. Rusted metal scraped the rotting wood. The ground was trembling. Shouts tore through the chaos. My legs folded nearly as soon as my toes touched the ground, pieces of splintered wood and metal digging into my knees. The waves roared around me, pushing and tugging at my mind. Everything was screaming, my head, the stage, the Girls, my friends. My breath fogged in the air, moist and thick; my lungs were burning. Ice splintered across the wood as my fingers spread across it, coating the surface in a white gloss. Pixie glided around my fingers, her wings frosting slightly.

Another falling beam shook the ground. The ice shattered.

_It's not real. _My heartbeat was pounding in my ears as I shut my eyes, willing Pixie and her lies to vanish. I didn't want to go under, not now. I wouldn't let myself reach the bottom, no matter how easy, how painless, it would be. I didn't want the relief if it meant losing my mind. I would get through this without Pixie.

I tried to stand up, only to sway, stumbling every so slightly. A yelp burst from my lips. Hands were on my shoulders, their grip too tight as they ripped me from the ground. My breath hiccuped in my throat, threatening to choke me. I barely had time to blink before a metal beam landed where I was seconds ago. Time seemed to slow, my heartbeat fading, giving way to the chaos around me. The hands continued to pull me backwards through the ragged waters, a voice cutting through the chaos.

"Grant, get that door open! Bex, go make sure Macey is safe." The voice was yelling above me, nearly choked by the wails- the cries of a place forgotten. My breath burned my lungs as I tried to stand on my own. The grip on my arms shifted, one wrapping around my waist and the other pressing against my ear as if trying to block out the noise and destruction raging around us.

The destruction I'd caused.

Across the stage, the doorway was wide and empty. Ally was gone. Eva was gone. Another metal beam fell, crushing the wooden star, shattering every forgotten memory that wasn't mine to destroy. Another hiccup of breath lodged in my throat. Beside me, a star landed, flakes of gold and silver paint blending with wood chips and dust in the air that was choking me. It was all falling. A place that had once held joy, a host of memories, now falling in a shower of metal and wood, a storm of wind and waves; and it was all my fault.

Joy was as fragile as a mind, breakable as glass. Memories were a precious thing, and I'd shown Eva exactly where to cut them down. I was the reason they were being destroyed. _I was just like him. _

My windpipe was as thin as a straw, air whistling as it forced its way around choppy salt and water, down to my burning lungs, getting stuck in my throat. Dust coated my tongue; my mouth was filling with wood flakes. I could taste the fear in the air like blood, but no one else sounded afraid, their voices sharp as daggers.

"- need to get back to the school."

"-getting away!"

"-too risky- on your left!"

Pixie was circling my head again, dancing through the debris, the same word cutting through the torrent of noise, floating down to me in a shower of constant bells.

_Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. R-_

My body lurched, and the arm around my waist grew tighter, causing my head to swim, arms straining to reach the ground and hurtle me away. "It's okay, Clara. I got you; it's okay." A voice said close to my ear. _But it wasn't okay_, I wanted to scream. Nothing was ever okay. I was clawing at the arms restraining me, but the hands held me tighter, pressing my head against something hard and solid, indifferent to the cold, dull ache that was seeping from my skull to my core.

There were more shouts, two more crashes, and then I was being pulled backwards, the arms around me and the solid warmth at my back. My heels dragged against the floor in protest, a whine squeezing through my narrow throat. I wouldn't be taken. I couldn't be taken. Ally said he was gone. They were supposed to protect me.

"Calm down. It's okay, we're going to take you somewhere safe." The voice near my ear said again, but it echoed in my head until it sounded far far far away, like I was a princess stuck in a tower and the voice was down down down down below.

_RunRunRunRunRunRunRunRun-_

I squirmed, but the arms grew tighter. Above me Pixie zipped faster and faster. She wasn't alone anymore. The others had come as well, their bell like voices singing down to me, calling to me, warning me. The air was getting lighter, and it no longer tasted like fear and blood. I tried again to slip out of the arms dragging me away, but they shifted just right, like they knew what I was trying to do. No-no-no-no- No one was supposed to be able to catch me. I was the fastest; I was the best hider. _Run, run as fast as you can; you can't catch me-_

But I was already caught. The locks were already around me. I couldn't escape, couldn't leave. There was only one place to hide from what was coming. InsideInsideInside they couldn't hurt me. Inside Pixie could help me. She could sing until it didn't hurt; all I had to do was swim down down downdowndown.

My heels bumped against something, and the arms around me faltered slightly. Arms raised above my head, I slipped down, trying to run, but a hand caught my ankle. A scream rippled from my stomach all the way to my mouth, ringing in my head and bouncing between my ears. Pixie and her friends did somersaults, tumbling away from me on the waves of my voice.

Noise shattered in my ears, as if they had been filled with water and my scream had drained them dry. As Pixie shook her tiny head side to side, a mist I hadn't noticed seemed to lift from my eyes. The chaos was still in front of me, but I'd been dragged far. I could see the catwalk shift above the pile of rubble and destruction, my bridge tilting dangerously before one corner's support wires snapped.

Behind me the voice was yelling, getting closer. "Clara! Clara!" I could feel the footsteps approaching me. I could recognize the voice now, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the snapping wires on the other side of the stage. My throat burned, and my chest felt hollow. I couldn't look away as my cousin pulled me up to my feet, saying over and over that it was okay, that I was safe with him. My feet moved willingly this time, letting him lead me away from the torrent in front of me. I finally allowed my head to turn as we approached the doorway, listening to the sound of complete and utter destruction with a shutter. Leaving Pixie alone inside.

...

Outside, it was much cooler, the sunset bleeding pink and orange. Silhouettes darted against the sky like dragon flies across a naiad's lagoon. I blinked a few times, willing my head to clear, my thoughts to connect in a straight line again.

Voices called out mixing in my mind and getting lost in the lagoon. Their meaning washing away before I could grasp them. The last image from the theater replaying in my head, over and over and over and over. _My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault._

_Just like him._

Zach stopped, his arms dropping but staying close. Time passed, and the voices talked and yelled, and I sank to the grass and began pulling out strands with my fingers. When the sun was just a small, golden slice in the sky, one voice crossed the lagoon. When I'd finished drying off the words I realized it was Zach asking if I was okay. Okay. Okay. OK. Simple word. Simple meaning. Four letters. Two letters. Not what it seems. Okay ok okay ok okay ok-

"Clara?" This time the word skipped across the lagoon, barely wet.

Zach's eyes were worried when I looked at him. They were sad. They were- were... Something else. For a moment I was worried he would see how it was all my fault. That I made Ally stop killing, that I showed her the truth, that I'd given her a gun and pointed it at her own head. That I was just like _him_. It didn't matter that I'd wanted to help. All that mattered was that Ally was gone. Eva was gone. The memories and the catwalk, the bridge and the world was falling down.

My cousin placed a warm hand on my shoulder. I blinked, reminding myself that it was my turn. I was supposed to say something now. That was how talking worked. When I opened my mouth, sticky from not swallowing in so long, I couldn't think of anything but the snapping wires. The destruction I'd caused. My throat was producing noise before I could think. _"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..." _

Zach sighed. He pushed a lock of hair away from my face and looked up at someone who was talking.

_"London bridge is falling down. My fair lady." _

...

...

* * *

**March 5th. It's been nearly three months... I'm sorry. **

**It's been three months, three deaths of loved ones, two funerals, one computer virus, one dead laptop, one previously cured of virus now also dead laptop, one newborn cousin, and five really hard, dark weeks for me. However, I'm back. I'm okay, and I'm aching to finish this story. I'm so close, but I have one final trick up my sleeve before the end. Thank you all who are still reading this, and thank you all for 200 reviews! **


	28. Help Me

_**.o Help Me o.**_

* * *

**Alyson**

Four walls. One cot. One missing vile. One missing syringe. Not enough bandages.

Blood stained my shirt, sticking to whatever I touched. My arm stung as it bled; the cut reopening whenever I moved my arm higher than my elbow. The cot hurt my back, but I welcomed the pain; I embraced the blood, because every ounce of pain gave me something to focus on; it meant that I didn't have to think.

I wasn't sure how long I had run, how long I'd wandered the woods, how long it had taken me to find my way to the abandoned bunker. I wasn't sure how long I'd been here, or how long it'd been since I'd eaten or drunk anything, or how long it'd been since Evelyn had left, or what she was going to do with the vile, or how long my arm had been bleeding, or how long until I would run out of blood. I didn't want to know. I didn't want to think, because if I had to think, I would think of Zach and...

A hiss escaped my teeth as I pressed my fingers just below the cut, the leather sticking to the damp, slick skin. The dull ache had become a constant pulse, assuring me that I was still alive. Still alive. But not for long. The pit of my stomach twisted with hunger, and my throat burned dry. My limbs ached, the joints in my back cracking every time I sat up.

I couldn't go on like this. Weak. Unable to process simple information. That's all it was. A name. A filled in blank. A simple strand of DNA. A cell. _It didn't matter. _

But even I couldn't lie to myself that well.

I couldn't deny the significance no matter how much I wanted to. There was nothing I could say to reverse it, change it. For the first time in my life, my brother had gotten something first. He'd changed the rules on me. He'd added another player to my strategic game.

And no matter how hard I fought them, the memories would surface as I tried to close my eyes. The sound of bottles shattering, and the scream and cries of a madwoman would haunt my ears. Every house we lived in, every night I bandaged my own cuts, found our food; every time I calmed Clara down from an attack, everything I'd ever buried, every day I'd struggled to forget, they all circled in my head until I wanted to rip them out, cut them to shreds. They assaulted me until I wanted to scream, to sob, to question anything I'd every felt, every loyalty I'd ever had, to kill everything that every made me feel this way. To destroy the person who'd made me like this, who'd abandoned us in the ultimate way. Abandoned me, us- _her._

The nails on my hand were crusted with dried blood, some from the cut on my arm, some from my wrist, and legs, and face. It'd been months since either of my hands were bare this long. The splotchy, tough skin made me sick. The memories of the fire made my stomach roll. My eyes still stung from the tears, and my throat ached from the screams.

The pain had been awful, but worse was the treatment afterwards. The careful way the insufferable woman had tried to patch me up, promising no one would find me, as if she knew what was best, as if she had any idea what a secret even was. Another slice of pain shot up my arm, causing me to wince. I hated remembering, but some memories were useful.

My knees hit the stone floor with a painful thud. Arms shaking, I pushed myself up from the floor and moved to the cubicles on the walls, fingers fumbling until they gripped something thin and flat. The old papers slid out, falling around my feet and sticking to my dirty hand as I searched for the right article.

I found it in the middle of the pile, what used to be the biggest story in the news looked up at me, the bold black letters showing me exactly what I needed to see.

_**Senator's wife sells home after husband's death and moves to small town of Dustin, Virginia.**_

...

There was once a time when entering through the front door, let alone _knocking,_ would have been appalling; but as I stood there, swaying slightly, I realized that nothing was really beyond possibility for me anymore.

I had to blink as the door swung open, the light emitting from inside temporarily blinding me as a woman began to shout. Apparently she didn't appreciate a stranger knocking her door relentlessly at three am. My eyes didn't have time to adjust before the voice cut off with a rough gasp, followed by the woman turning and yelling for someone inside the house. My voice evaded me, and I swayed again, trying to catch my balance against the door frame. Her silhouette blurred as she rushed forward, catching me by the arms and causing me to hiss in pain.

"Oh, my! Are you being followed? How did you get here?" The woman was speaking rapidly, her voice carrying across the empty street behind me. Shifting her arms around my waist, she lead me inside, her questions continuing as she closed and locked the door behind her. "What's your name? Do you need an ambulance? Come, er- no, this way. I'll take you to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs." I tuned her out as she led me up the staircase, hollering over her shoulder for the other occupant of the house.

For as many questions she asked me, she never waited for an answer. Within two minutes, she had taken my jacket, removed my shirt without hesitation (or permission), and was looking me over, taking in the blood and cuts and bruises without so much as a blink. I assumed I looked horrific. I hadn't bothered to glance in a mirror between leaving Roseville, stealing a car, and driving nearly two hours in my already exhausted state. But that was one of the reasons I'd come here. The woman in front of me wouldn't be daunted by what she was seeing; and she had stopped asking me questions halfway up the stairs. Her mouth was now set in a firm line, hands trembling as she silently moved to and from the bathroom and the bed where I was seated.

When she returned holding a bottle of alcohol and bandages, there was a wary determination in her eyes. She placed them on the small table beside the bed before leveling me with an intense, almost pleading, stare. "I've done a lot to keep the past in the past, young lady. I don't need to be worrying about you and- and-" she pressed her lips together, hands clenching at her sides before gesturing to me roughly with one hand. "I don't want any of _this _or _your people _or anything of the sort coming here, disrupting me and my son anymore because of you!" She paused. I had to admit I was slightly impressed she had the guts to make demands. It seemed time had strengthened her- at least a little.

When she spoke again, her voice grew quiet, distant. "If there's even the slightest chance anyone will come after us for this..." She trailed off, her eyes flickering from me to the supplies on the nightstand. I pressed my lips together, giving a slight shake of my head even though I had absolutely no idea when the Gallagher gang would track me here.

She didn't look convinced, which was smart of her and frustrating for me. Glancing over me again, she started shaking her head. "You know what, I shouldn't have to deal with this anymore." She stepped back, as if I were a child and she was tired of telling me not to throw my toys. "I don't care who you are or what you've been doing or if you're one of them. I should just call an ambulance, send you to a hospit-"

"You can't do that." Someone interjected from the doorway. I turned around, the movement stinging my open cuts. A guy was crossing the room to the woman, not bothering to look at me. Instead, he placed his hands on her shoulders, lowering his voice, however pointless it was to do so; I could hear every word. "You go downstairs. I'll take care of this."

The woman stared at him for a moment, before glancing at me then back to the young man in front of her. Eventually she nodded, stepping around him and quickly out the door.

As soon as she was gone, the guy turned on me, eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you doing here, Alyson?" he hissed, taking a step towards me. Then he seemed to process the fact that my shirt was thrown over the bed frame and not all of my skin was bruised. I couldn't help the way my lips twitched at the way he cleared his throat, ears slightly pink. I watched as his eyes raked over my figure, taking in the cuts and blood. I'm sure my hair didn't look better than if I'd twisted it on the end of a fork for hours.

I leaned back slightly, ignoring the protests of my stinging arms, and tilted my head slightly. "You know, I really love the warm welcome I always get from you."

He snorted, raising an eyebrow in impatience. After a minute of my silence, the boy in front of me shook his head, reaching over and pouring the alcohol on one of the gauze. He'd changed in the months since I'd seen him last. Of course I'd seen his pictures in magazines and papers, online and TV screens; but it was different when you were face to face. Screens can't capture the differences in someone's eyes and posture. The gossip collum couldn't possibly begin to understand the meaning in the simple gestures a person makes. The young man in front of me had seen his world flipped, heard life altering secrets, experienced a fraction of the world he was born into since the last time we'd seen each other; and I could tell in his eyes that it was something that was still haunting him today.

Which was exactly why I'd come to him.

I hissed, baring my teeth as he pressed the soaked gauze to my skin. My shoulder was on fire. He kept an expression of perfect indifference as I glared at him, his body close enough for me to see the muscles in his throat as he swallowed.

"You shouldn't have come here," he murmured, voice low. His eyes softened the slightest amount as he glanced up to meet mine, pressing the gauze to my collar bone, where the marks of my own fingernails were obvious and inflamed. "But since you did, I'm assuming you really have reached rock bottom." The corner of his mouth lifted a tiny amount, only inches away from me. He raised his eyebrows in wonder. "What exactly is _the_ Black Widow's lowest point?"

My muscles were tensed as if I were cornered, throat tightening. The stinging was increasing the longer he held the cloth to my chest. I had a feeling he wouldn't let go until I'd answered. Clearing my throat, I narrowed my eyes, trying to regain some sort of control. "I got in a tight spot," I shrugged to avoid wincing at the pain. "Needed a few stitches; besides, you owe me," I leaned forward, dragging out the name. "_Mad Dog_."

He frowned, a crease forming in his forehead. "No. That's not it." I actually did wince as he moved the gauze to a fresher cut, the fire now spreading across my chest. He either didn't notice, or he didn't care. I was more convinced of the latter.

"You don't go anywhere without the others," he pressing both me and the cloth against my burning flesh. "And you wouldn't come here unless you were completely out of options. So tell me, Alyson," He leaned closer, his breath adding to the stinging of my face. "Why exactly are you here?"

Despite how much pain was crawling across my skin, I wanted to reach up and rip the smirk off his face. He wasn't supposed to know this much. Seeing him again wasn't supposed to be this painful. It wasn't supposed to feel like I was being scraped hallow. I wish I could blame rawness of my throat for my voice cracking when I told him, "I _need_ help, Preston."

He blinked, sitting back. Even if he didn't know the full weight of the confession, he'd known me long enough to realize the rarity of what I'd just said. He was a descendant of the Circle. It didn't really matter how much he was told, he, like myself, had done enough digging to understand the dynamic, the rules. He seemed to looked over my injuries with a new vigor, lingering on the obviously self given scratch lines. "What happened?"

I shook my head, eyes stinging. Air was sticking in my throat, and it nearly made me jump when the first sob broke. Preston leaned forward, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Hey, breathe, Ally, breathe. What's going on?"

Another sob burst from my throat as I told him. I told him everything, starting from the beginning all the way to hours ago; the words and tears flooding from me, sobs wracking my body again and again. I told him about Aunt Laura being killed, about Mom becoming frantic about taking over the Circle, about Evelyn and Clara, about Clara's father, and Blackthorne and training. Once I started I couldn't stop myself from nearly screaming how Zach had abandoned us, how Mom became obsessed with the Morgans, how I'd slowly become more and more obsessed with making Cameron pay for what she'd done; what her family had done to mine.

I wasn't sure how long he sat there, letting me break down completely, but by the time I'd stopped, my throat ached and my head was pounding, making my already stinging eyes heavy. Preston hadn't interrupted me once, though I wasn't sure how much of my rant was comprehensible. He only moved once to sit next to me on the bed. When it was obvious I'd stopped, he reached over and lightly grabbed my wrist, tracing circles onto my hand with his thumb.

He'd let me break until I ran out of tears; and I hated him for it."There's something you're not saying," he whispered; and I shook my head ready to bolt out the door. His grip tightened. "Alyson, stop. There's something else, I can tell. You don't just hate Cammie because Zach went to Gallagher, and even that wouldn't bring you here. What happene-"

"No!" I snapped, ripping my hand from his and trying to stand. My exhausted legs faltered, and a second later, he was pulling me back onto the bed. I struggled against him, trying to kick him away, but they were feeble attempts. My head fell back, one final sob escaping me. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open.

Preston leaned over me, pinning my hands to my sides. I hated it; I hated him. I hated myself for crying, for breaking. For being _too weak_. I hated feeling this hallow, this broken. More than anything, I hated myself for _letting him see it_. All I wanted was to curl up and let everything disappear; my eyes felt like heavy curtains, is I could close them, maybe I could shut out the world forever. Preston didn't say anything, but his questions echoed in my head, screaming to be released. Refusing to let out another sob, I did the only thing to stop it.

"When I was eight, my Aunt Laura was killed for helping an CIA agent find the names of the Circle of Cavan," I said, my voice like nails in my throat. "The agent's name was Morgan."

There was a beat of silence before Preston pressed, "And?"

I took in a ragged breath before adding, "And, I just found out who my father is."

...

**Zach **

"You're twin sister." The man pacing in front of me shook his head. A humorless laugh escaped his lips as he looked at each of us in turn. "I should have known."

"Edward-" Joe took a step forward, but Townsend wheeled on him.

"No." I'd expected him to yell or snap; but his voice kept the same calm indifference that was somehow worse. "No, _Edward." _He pointed at Solomon, then at Abby, then Rachel. He didn't even look at me. "All of you knew, and I'm guessing it was in the best interest of the mission _not _to tell me I had another child and that we so happened to be attempting to kill her."

"We're not going to kill her." My father still ignored me. Maybe when you're a spy who prides himself on keeping his head and following protocol the easiest thing to do is block out whatever unnecessary emotion could make you lose focus.

Apparently I was the unnecessary emotion.

Beside me, Grant muttered, "Easy cowboy." He placed a hand on my shoulder. Jonas had left, instructing Madame Dabney and Doctor Fibbs how to treat Clara; but Grant hadn't left my side since we'd gotten to the school. I rolled my eyes, but I heard his warning, the offer- let him do the talking about Alyson and her past. Townsend didn't want to listen to me at the moment, and I was too invested in this.

Townsend was still pacing. "Where has the subject been for the past year?"

"She's not the Subje-"

"All sources would indicate that prior to the breakout of Youngblood Asylum, Alyson Goode had been staking out abandoned homes, on the run from both the remains of the Circle and the CIA." Joe gave me a look, and I took their advice. I backed off, stepping back to where the girls were sitting, letting the more seasoned operatives work this out. If Townsend wanted to act like this was a normal mission, fine. I could let Grant and Joe take the lead on this one. But I wasn't going to sit around listening to them talk as if Ally was just another Subject. I'd done enough of that myself.

Macey had taken Bianca to a more secure area of the school, debrifing and treating her. Clara was being held in Sublevel Two, while the rest of us were left to recover and find out where my sister had gone. Cammie looked up at me from her stack of papers. I figured she was getting a head start on her Mission Report, something she'd been great at since I'd known her. Bex and Liz were watching a baseball game. And when I say watching, I mean the game was on the tv screen, but Liz had a giant map on her lap, and Bex was helping her trace out possible stopping points less than forty-eight hours away. A row of laptops were lined up in the middle of their chairs. Yes, my sister had disappeared, and yes, we needed to find her; however, no one could have taken everything my sister had and run far. She wouldn't be able to get out of state without getting some kind of medical attention. I know, because I'm the one who'd injected her with the infection. She would need help, and we were watching every place she could get it.

"You okay?" Cam asked, her eyes darting from me to Townsend and the others.

I shrugged. "It's not something particually easy to take in."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

"I just hope he doesn't hurt her."

Cammie sat up straight, her stack of papers nearly falling before her hand shot out to catch them. "Zach, she's killed, broken into both Youngblood and _the Gallgher Academy_," she said, unsure which was scarier. "Not to mention, she was part of the Circle, kidnapped the President's daughter, and has openly tried to assassinate me and you."

"I know!" My voice came out harsher than I'd intended. Cammie leaned away from me. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry. I just..." I glanced from her to Bex, who was watching me, obviously ready to jump across the room should I snap. "She's my sister." I wasn't sure if which one of them I was talking to, but it needed to be said. "I know her. She's hurt and scared and _stubborn, _but she's my sister." I looked from Cam to Bex (who looked unimpressed) to Townsend. "And it's my job to take care of her."

_._o.O.o.

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**Two chapters in less than a week? What is this sorcery? Well, guys, this is what happens when I'm tremendously excited for what's coming! Not that I haven't been excited this entire story, but there's something in your blood when you're nearly finished with a story you've been writing for nearly two years! And if we're going by the time I started theorizing in my little notebook, over two years! **


	29. Stormy Confessions

**New Poll on bio. Read bottom Author's note for details.**

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**.o Stormy Confessions o. **

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**Alyson**

"You should be resting."

I didn't turn around, keeping my gaze on the little girl in the street below. She was holding a white umbrella with purple polka dots, the raindrops on the window making them look more like large raisins on a pillowcase. In the seventieen minutes I'd been watching her, she'd splashed in puddles, ran through the small current forming by the curb, and not once looked around to check the perimeter. "I'm not really the resting type."

The floor creaked as Preston crossed the room. "You're not the type to ask for help either," he said. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it from time to time."

"If you're here to make me talk-"

"I'm here because it's my house. You showed up in a hysterical bloody mess three days ago, remember?"

I closed my eyes, refusing to turn around. A long breath escaped my nose before I opened them. Outside the girl was catching raindrops on her tongue. She had no clue someone was watching her, and she didn't care. Why should she? She was normal.

Preston was never one to be ignored by me. "Look, you were right when you said I owed you," he told me, growing impatient. "You're alive, and I've made sure my mother hasn't contacted anyone about you; but I can't hide you here-"

"I'm not hiding." My voice came out too hard. I didn't want to talk about it.

"-without you at least telling me what's going on," he plowed on. I could practically hear him shaking his head at me. "You can't expect me to keep you here without knowing what to look out for, not knowing what kind of danger you're in-"

"Don't do that!" I snapped, whirling on him. To his credit he didn't flinch. It seemed not all the training had been wasted on him. "Don't act like you're trying to help me-"

His eyes widened. "If I'm trying not to help you, what am I doing?" he nearly shouted. "Running a bed and breakfast?"

My teeth were grinding so hard my jaw hurt. "You're paying off a debt. You're not calling anyone about me because you don't know who to call. Don't pretend you actually care about me. Don't act like we both don't already know where each of our loyalties lie."

Preston didn't say anything. For a second he just stood there, staring and I momentarily wondered if he was pondering the most convenient person to call about me. As if calling top secret government agencies was as trivial as deciding where to order your pizza from.

Yes, I have a insane, severely problematic fugitive topped with extra psycho. Do you pick up?

After a minute, he spoke, his voice so low I actually had to try to hear him. "That's the thing, Ally. You always assume you know where a person's loyalties are. " His eyes grew soft, and I couldn't stand to look at him, not when the pity was practically pouring out of him in waves. "You think because an ally chooses to help someone else, it means they've thrown you to the wolves." He crossed his arms. "Not not everyone is out to get you."

"CIA, FBI, Interpol," I started rattling off the groups who were most definitely out to get me. Anything to get him to change courses.

It worked. Preston huffed. "You know that's not what I mean."

That was true. I knew what he meant. That didn't mean he was right. It only meant that he was as fooled as the rest of them, and it only amplified my annoyance. I didn't want to talk about it.

I guess he was able to read my expression, because he threw his hands up with an exasperated breath before pointing at me. "Stay right there," he snapped, and then he marched out of the room.

There was the sound of doors being swung open and shut, the noise fading as he got further into the house. I glanced back out the window. There was a man with the little girl now. They were kicking water at each other, the bottoms of their pants soaked through.

Three minutes and nine seconds later, the door swung open again, and there was a small thud as something hit the bed. I turned, raising an eyebrow when I saw the two items Preston had retrieved to show me. "A spider-man watch? Really?"

He snatched it off the bed. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like he was suppressing a laugh. "Let me tell you a story-"

"Please don't."

"-A story about the week a boy met two girls at a hotel in Boston. Two girls who changed his world in different ways."

I glared, reaching for the watch; but he stepped back, a twinkle in his eyes. He was teasing me. I was half tempted to storm out of the room, but there would be no point. I couldn't leave, and it was his house. He would follow me anywhere I went.

After a minute long staring contest, I finally huffed and leaned against the wall. Three days had allowed my body to rest, but there was still aches where busied skin met scarring cuts. If Preston insisted on acting ridiculous, I could always hit hit him later for it when moving didn't hurt so badly.

Grinning, Preston sat on the bed, still holding up the watch. "One of the girls saved his life that day-"

"They weren't after yo-" I tried, but he shook the watch in my face. I smacked it away.

"The other," he continued, looking far too smug. "The other girl saved him from being dangerously stupid on a rooftop." He grinned. "Now, you tell me which girl is standing in front of me now."

"I don't like mind games, Preston."

His laugh was short and loud and entirely mocking. "Oh, don't you?" He asked. "I heard they were your specialty."

"And last I heard, you didn't like talking about Boston," I shot back.

He was quiet for a moment, his grin faltering. He looked like someone waking up from a dream when he said, "I don't." Then with a small shake of his head, he tossed the watch at me. "But I don't like seeing you like this more." He paused. "Do you remember how we met?"

"Yeah." Of course. It wasn't a day I would forget anytime soon, and funny enough, Preston had nearly nothing to do with that.

I looked down at the watch in my hand. It looked as dorky as it had the day I'd swiped it from a politician's son years ago, swinging it as he chased after me. Of course then I'd led him to an empty bathroom, locked him in, and told him exactly how stupid it would be to stick around Macey and her friend when they arrived; then, when it became obvious he wasn't going to listen, I'd made sure he didn't do anything stupid while dangling on the side of a multistory building. What he didn't know is the only reason I'd been there was my mother had banned me from the rooftop, and I'd happened to see him trying to figure out the controls, nearly plummeting himself down sixty stories.

He didn't know that was the day everything changed. He didn't know that Zach had never quite forgiven me for being a part of the attack. The Preston back then still hated the training his father put him through. That Preston was ignorant to his birthright, his world, our world. When I would corner him for information a few months later he still wouldn't know quite yet; it wouldn't be until Mother did a little digging on Winters that Preston would make the connection. And even then he'd still be naive and scared and skeptical.

The Preston in front of me was none of those things. In fact, the Preston in front of me was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, staring at me as if he were waiting for a moth to escape from its cocoon.

I bristled under his stare. It felt too raw, to revealing. "Is there a point to this?" I snapped, flinging the watch back at him.

He didn't react right away, still watching me. Finally he shrugged and reached over, grabbing the other item, a small velvet box. He tossed it to me.

"What is this?"

"It's a box. You open it." He made an act of opening an invisible box in his hand, his grin returning. I could have punched him right then.

Instead, I begrudgingly decided to humor him and opened the box. Inside was another watch, this one gleaming either silver or white gold. My bet was white gold. I didn't know anything about nice watches, only that this one was worth more than anything I'd ever stolen. I glanced up at the boy across from me, curiosity getting the best of me. "Nice watch."

"Yeah," Preston nodded, the grin vacant. There was a hollowness in his eyes that I recognized all to well. The box in my hand suddenly felt heavier.

"This was your father's," I said, unease spreading through my limbs and knotting in my gut. It wasn't a question, but he nodded again anyway.

When he spoke, his voice was low. "I swiped it from one of the old houses. Mom doesn't know." He shook his head, a mirthless chuckle reverberating in his throat. "I know he was technically evil and wanted to start World War Three and all, but that's not the part of him I saw. Well, at least not until the last year or so." A sigh slipped from his lips, and in my head, alarms were blaring. "I just wanted something to hold on to, because, despite supremely sucking as a person, he was still my dad." He glanced up at me.

I didn't want to talk about it. My stomach was churning, and I think my nails had sliced through the velvet on the box. "Don't."

Preston stood up. "Ally-"

"No!" I burst, throwing the box at him. "No. I know what you're doing, and I don't want to talk about it. There's nothing to talk about!"

"Before you passed out three days ago, you told me you'd just found out who your father is," he replied. "I think there is."

"It's none of your business."

"I'm sorry. Who just nursed you back from the walking dead?" he snapped. "Just because you're scared-"

"I am not scared!" I screeched, far to quickly to be convincing.

Preston gave me a look. "Just because you're upset, you can't just avoid the situation. You have to talk to someone, try to face him!"

The ants were crawling over my skin again. I shook out my hands, noticing for the first time that both of them were bare. I blinked. "Where are my gloves?"

"Don't try to change the subject-"

I shot forward, ignoring the way my muscles protested. He dodged, just out of my reach. "Where are they, Preston?" My voice came out as a growl.

He shook his head. "You were only wearing one when you came to us, and we took the other one while looking you over."

"Give it back!" I moved towards him again, but he stood his ground.

"No," he snapped, giving my shoulders a shove, and I stumbled bank onto the bed.

A hiss escaped through my teeth, pain blossoming from my legs. Preston took a step towards me carefully, like he was approaching a injured animal. In a way, I guess he was. "Alyson?"

"I need that glove." I was sliding down, until my knees hit the floor.

Preston crouched down, confusion and worry in his eyes. "Why?"

My head was shaking, my hands clawing into the carpet. "I need it."

His hands were on my shoulders. "Why, Alyson?"

"I can't. I can't." I'm not even sure if I knew what I was saying. I didn't want to talk about it; I didn't want to think about it.

"Can't what?"

"I can't face him. I can't face them-" " A hiccup choked me. My jaw tightened. I refused to cry again. Refused to be that weak again.

Preston pushed my shoulders back, forcing me to look at him. "You have to, Ally. I know Zach, he's not going to-"

"You don't know anything!" Maybe it sounded more like a petty teenage girl than a highly trained assassin. At that moment, I didn't care. I shoved the only boy who'd ever be crazy enough to help me away and bolted for the door.

I heard him calling after me as my feet sped down the stairs. It hurt, but pain was irreverent, because it's always there. Whether physical or mental or both, conscious or unconscious, it's always there; only armatures give in. And I was no armature. When I nearly slammed into the door, I didn't pause. My stinging hands flew over the locks, throwing open the door before the boy behind me could call my name again. Heat was crawling up my back, my neck. My ears pounded with the sound of my own heart. In the distance I could hear the phantom of destruction; I could feel the fire chasing me. I couldn't breathe. I needed to get out.

Damp air rushed to my lungs as I burst through the door. I nearly crumbled right there, raindrops cooling the ghost fire from my back, my hair, my hands. Everything in me was screaming to run, to get away from the fire behind me. But I realized as my feet slowed, reaching the end of the yard, there was no where else to go.

Stepping onto the street, I noticed the girl with the umbrella staring at me. When she noticed I'd looked up, she tugged on the arm of the man next to her, pointing.

"Alyson!" There was a rapid squishing noise, I guessed were Preston's footfalls as he ran after me. They paused halfway down the lawn. "Ally?"

I didn't answer. My focus was on the girl and the man who was now staring at me, looking me up and down, taking in my scars and bruises and the wild nest that was my hair. After a moment, he said something to the girl, and I didn't bother to read his lips. I didn't want to know what he thought of me, to hear his warnings not to stare at the crazy girl.

Behind me, Preston was easing forward, probably scared I would start running again. But Evelyn had been right- Clara- Clara who I'd abandoned- had been right. I glanced down at my bare hands, the scarred skin that had never fully healed. It was time to stop running.

Preston's voice was a whisper at my back. "Alyson, you don't have to do this alone."

Rain water dripped from the ends of my hair, my hands, my face. In front of me, the girl was grinning as her father lifted her onto his shoulders and began walking towards a house on the end of the street. "I know," I told Preston, watching the girl and her father's retreating backs. "Will you go with me?" I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Of course."

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**Well, I liked this one. It's one of the scenes that originally prompted this story in my head. It seems I'm on a roll. Believe it or not I'm almost finished this story. There are something between five and ten chapters left, and then I'll be finished with my first full length fanfiction ever. I went back and read the first few chapters, and it made me both cry and cringe. Ha! My writing still isn't all that great, but it is better than it was two years ago. **

**Well, since I am lacking a laptop, and without one I am only able to write three days a week, I can't really work on my Novel at the moment. Which is where the NEW POLL comes in. **

**DETAILS ON POLL: (mobile devices will not see the poll on my bio- you can vote by reviewing) **This story is sadly coming to a close soon. (Assuming nothing prevents me from updating as scheduled.) In the three years I've been writing fanfiction, I've had many ideas, however, I've learned while writing this fic that I am a terrible multi-writer. **THE POINT** is: I need you guys to vote which story you want me to write next. The Poll gives a One-Sentence description of each of my ideas, however a full summary of every story is in the "To Come" section of my bio if you would like more information on the stories. PLEASE VOTE, because I am extremely indecisive, and not voting will result in a longer wait. Thanks guys!


	30. Cotton Candy Clouds

**This is going to be a short one. In my defense, I have no computer. I'm saving up to buy a new one. It's a miracle I even have this to upload. **

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**.o Cotton Candy Clouds o.**

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**Clara**

Everything was soft and white, as if the room was made of cotton and clouds. Only a small section wasn't fuzzy. In the reflection, hands twitched as they ran over the smooth, flat surface of a mirror. The person who looked back had tangled black hair. No one had given her a brush, scared to hand her anything without someone to watch present. The girl in the mirror didn't seem to mind. The short, dark, knots stuck to her hallow cheeks, hiding her freckles; and her tangled bangs were overgrown, nearly covering her crystal blue eyes. Eyes which were still wide, still fragile, but no longer broken. The water the spies had given her was healing her peeling, rounded, chapped lips, and their food was adding color and fullness to her skin again.

Long ago, arms had led her down paths. Voices had floated around her, meaningless and dull. The girl hadn't run. She hadn't tried to hide. When they'd led her through familiar halls with familiar symbols, she didn't fight. Hands had felt her arms, her legs, her waist. Others had felt her head, handed her water she hadn't drunk.

Hands had pulled her arms, legs, felt her head. Clothes had been given to her, soft and clean. Familiar faces she couldn't name had come and gone. One face had stopped to look at her. He'd stared and stared and stared, his eyes shifting from sad, to confused, to something the girl hadn't had a name for. Then he'd left, and the girl was shown a room. She'd never seen a key, but she'd been able to hear it, the small _click_ as the door closed.

Then the girl had been left here. She wasn't sure for how long, only that more faces came and went and gave her food and watched her eat. Sometimes they tried to talk to her, but she never responded. She knew that the cameras were in each corner of the room, and she knew that on the other side of her reflection, someone was watching her. Someone was making sure it was dark when she slept, that it was bright when she was awake. Someone was giving her water, and recently, someone had left a book on the plush table for her, the one with the boy and the fairy who were always running away from the pirate.

The girl knew that, for the first time, she didn't have to run.

Eyes were watching; the cameras prickled at her back and face. They thought she was gone or under or whatever word they wanted to use. They didn't know she could hear the music they played, the words they said to her. No one checked if she was lucid or not. But it was okay.

The girl in the mirror was healing; the girl inside her head no longer scared to come out.

...

**Zach **

"How's she doing?"

I didn't turn as he sat next to me, my eyes glued to the glass window, the girl on the other side staring right at me. It was one way glass. She couldn't see anything but her own reflection I knew, but the intensity with which she stared made me doubt.

"She looks more alert." Jonas nodded his head towards my cousin behind the glass, as if he hadn't been coming to see her almost as much as I had.

"That's because she is," I told him, sitting up from my position and shaking out my hand. Behind the glass, Clara began tilting her head from side to side. "Fibbs and Buckingham say she's healing rapidly. Physically at least."

Jonas nodded, his eyes following every little movement she made. I never found out what made him and my cousin so close, but at times I believed he knew her better than I did. He'd taken her under his wing, treated her like a sister from the beginning, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind he was one of the main reasons she was still alive. Why she didn't try to run or jump as often as she could have.

"Is she still singing?" He asked after a minute of silence.

"Not as much."

As if hearing him, Clara's voice trilled through the speaker.

_"London bridge is falling down, falling down falling down-" _

Jonas pressed his lips together. "She's still not responding though? Not talking at all?"

I shook my head.

_"London bridge is falling down, my fair lady..." _A small frown formed on my cousin's lips, her hands pressing against the glass. Again I had to remind myself that we'd checked the sound proofing of her room, we'd made sure the speaker was one way. Whatever she did, it wasn't because she could hear or see us.

Jonas shook his head slightly, finally looking away from the window to me. "What about you, man? How you holding up?"

My head fell into my hands. A hard breath, not quite a snort, escaped my nose. "How am I holding up? Dude, Alyson's disappeared _again,_ Evelyn's trail went cold twenty miles from Rosevile, Townsend's still pissed I didn't tell him, and nothing seems to be getting through to Clara."

_"Take a key and lock her up, lock her up, lock her up..." _

Jonas sighed. "What about Cam? I thought she was talking to you again."

A dark chuckle bubbled from my chest. "Yeah," I said, "But have you seen the others? Cammie may be ready to talk to me, but I have a feeling it's going to take more to get back in Bex and Macey's good graces."

"Aw, come on, man. At least Liz is cool with us."

"She's cool with _the facts_. I'm not sure about _us."_ I turned to him slightly. "Are you sure Liz is fine? She seems kinda tense whenever she comes down here." My mind wandered to the fidgety way she would sit her eyes darting from her paper to Jonas every few seconds, or how short her visits down here were after the first night.

Jonas shrugged, his eyes flickering back to Clara. "We're all tense."

"Have you explained why you refuse to leave Clara? Why you care so much?"

He shook his head. "Haven't had time." I sighed. He seemed to be forgetting that the girls didn't know our old system. Our habits were still foreign to them, no matter how ingrained they were in us.

_"Take a key and lock her up, my fair lady..." _

Jonas sighed. "Look, girls are something I can't decode, but right now my concern is making sure Clara's fine and finding Alyson and Eva. And yours should be too." He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Everything else will work itself out in time. And as for your dad, I think you need to explain things to him as soon as possible." He stood up with a grin. "You know, before Alyson shows up with a gun pointed at his head."

I groaned. _Alyson. _When I'd found out about Townsend I'd taken it bad. I couldn't imagine what was going through Ally's mind right now. Worse case senario, Townsend wouldn't be able to leave the school until we had her secure. Even then, it would be difficult explaining anything to her. Assuming we'd find her at all.

I looked at Jonas. "How are we going to do this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "How do we do anything? Dive headfirst, and try not to think about what the hell we're doing."

The reason why that was the exact opposite of what I'd wanted to hear was on the tip of my tongue; however, I never got to tell him.

_"Zach?" _a voice called, _"I'm ready to come out now." _

...

* * *

**Can't promise any quick updates, but the time is allowing me to plan out both of this story's prequels. _Ignorance_ is Zach and ACE's childhoods/activities during the Books, and _Nobody's Home_ is going to be Catherine Goode's story. Cool right? By the time I have enough money for a laptop, I'll probably have every detail planned; meaning- It won't take long for me to type everything up. I just have to actually buy a laptop first. **

**Oh, yeah. This story is officially over 100k words! Insane! **


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